Herbed Lebanese Rice

This is a spicy and flavorful stove top recipe. If you have fussy, small eaters, leave out the parsley and reduce the spices by half, it would still be tasty and economical.

INGREDIENTS and steps

A pound to pound and a quarter of very Lean ground beef or venison

1/3  cup Worcestershire sauce

3  generous teaspoons of jarred minced garlic

Half of a large (or one small)  sweet onion chapped

a dash of salt and a couple grinds of fresh black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1  tsp turmeric 
 a couple shakes of Cinnamon (less than 1/4 teaspoon)

3/4  tsp cayenne (it's not overly hot but if you are heat timid, use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)

a small  handful of fresh-chopped parsley (about a quarter cup)

2 cups cooked rice

1. bring your ground beef to room temperature – take it out and put it in a bowl with a lid for about half an hour before you intend to cook it.
2. dump half of the Worcestershire sauce all over your hamburger, break it up into pieces and add the rest, mixing it up, but not over mixing
3. add garlic
4. add your chopped onion and add the spices
5. mix it all together, try not to stir it too much. Put the lid on and let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes (depends on time of year and how warm it is in the house).
6. after the meat has sat, cook it over medium-high heat, stirring it around and breaking it up. It will release a lot of liquid due to the Worcestershire sauce, but that is a good thing as it almost makes a sauce and most of the spices are in that sauce.
7. simmer on low for a few minutes  to cook off the majority of the sauce.  You can strain to remove the sauce, but  I highly recommend using extra lean and left what was there in, to soak into the rice for the full flavor you want.
8. before serving, stir in cooked rice and parsley.   I used a couple cups of cooked rice, you can use more or less depending on how many folks you are serving.  

 
Serve by itself, or with a side of yogurt cucumber sauce:

1/2 medium Cucumber, peeled (if you don't want the seeds in there use an English cucumber, the long, thin ones). 
1 cup whole milk plain yogurt
2 pinches of dried mint
2 pinches of cumin  (both the mint and cumin are to taste, I didn't use much as it was served with a spicy dish, if  using as a dip for veggies, step up the amount a little bit and/or add some chopped cilantro as well)
a couple dashes of Jane's Krazy salt
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 medium garlic clove, minced
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop or grate the cucumber until fine in texture (use the large holes on the grater)  Put the cucumber in a thick tea towel or paper towel and twist to squeeze the moisture out).  Add cucumber to remaining ingredients and mix well. If you want it totally smooth, put in a food processor and pulse a few times.  Refrigerate at least an hour before serving so the flavors blend.