Brown Rice and Pigeon Peas (Arroz Con Gandules)

This is one of my favorite recipes of any kind. It's tasty, healthy, easy, quick, and I'm happy eating it for days on end. It's based on a Goya recipe that I adapted to use brown rice for better nutritional value. If you want to eat more whole grains but just can't find appetizing ways to prepare them, give this a try. It can also be made with long-grain white rice if you prefer (not jasmine rice or anything like that, just the ordinary kind). The canned pigeon peas and sazon can both be found in the latino/hispanic/international section of most US supermarkets.

• Ready In: 42 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 2  slices smoked bacon, diced
• 1⁄2 cup onion, diced
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (15 ounce) can  pigeon peas (gandules)
• 1  packet  goya sazon goya with coriander and annatto
• 1⁄2 cup tomato sauce
• 3  cups water
• 2  cups long grain brown rice

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the bacon and onion and cook three minutes. Add the garlic and cook two minutes longer.
2. Stir in all remaining ingredients except rice. Bring to a boil.
3. Stir in rice, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until rice is tender (about 40-45 minutes if you're using brown rice, 25-30 minutes if you use white rice.