3-4 strips bacon (more if you use center cut)

1 C. diced celery

1 C. diced green pepper

1 C. diced onion

1 lb. lean ground beef

3 C. cooked rice

1 can tomato soup

salt & pepper to taste

 

Dice bacon and cook over low heat to render most of the fat without overcooking — you want it a bit short of crumbly. Remove to large mixing bowl. Leave a T. or so of fat in pan. Raise heat to medium high and add vegetables and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté vegetables until tender. Don’t brown. I start with the celery and give it an extra minute or two. Add vegetables to bacon in mixing bowl. Brown ground beef, breaking into fairly small pieces. Drain and add to bacon and vegetables. Add rice and mix thoroughly. Add soup and mix again. Taste and adjust seasoning. Put in casserole (hot dish) dish and bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Bacon never tasted so good!