Taco Rice With Beef And Refried Beans - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups water
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning, divided
4 cups instant rice, uncooked
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 lb ground beef or 1 lb vegetarian ground beef
16 ounces fat-free refried beans
8 ounces reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350.
In large saucepan, mix together the first 5 ingredients plus half the taco seasoning. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in rice, cover and let stand 5 minutes, then add tomato sauce.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook ground beef over med-high heat until browned. Drain off the grease. Mix the remaining taco seasoning with the beef.
In a 13x9\" baking dish coated with cooking spray, spread half of the rice mixture. Spread the refried beans evenly over the top. Then spread the beef mixture and top with 1/2 the cheese. Spread remaining rice mixture, and top with the remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.