Rice & Ham

For my shower I got a cookbook from First Presbyterian Church. We first tried the Stromboli recipe. It was so good! Matt said that now he had a reason to marry me. Anyway, we thought we would give another recipe a try. Since I had leftover ham, and didn't really want to do the standard ham with mac & cheese. I made Rice & Ham. Matt is always skeptical of new dishes (I try to jazz up their names, but it doesn't seem to work). Fortunately, he was pleasantly surprised this time and was even more surprised when I told him that it was fairly healthy. I think we will be making it again. I also think it would be great with chicken or kielbasa (kind of like jambalya).

Here's the recipe:

Rice & Ham

Ingredients

2 T. olive oil

1 lg. onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 1/2 c. chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 lb. baked ham, cut into 1 in. cubes

1 can (28 ox.) tomatoes, with juice

1 c. water, or chicken broth

1 1/2 cups rice (I used brown)

salt and pepper to taste

Place oil in a large pot over med-low heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook, stirring for 10 minutes, adding garlic during the last 5 minutes. Add ham and cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and water, bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover, fluff with a fork. Season to taste.

Source: Tracy Dorsett (Family Friend)