Break the meat up with your hands as it goes into the pot, then leave it alone for a few minutes before you touch it. You want flat, dark brown patches sitting against the bottom of the pan, not gray mince that you stirred around every thirty seconds. If the meat is lean, add the tablespoon of oil first and give it a minute before the meat goes in. Once it's browned, transfer it to a plate with a slotted spoon. Don't drain it you're leaving behind the fat, and that's the next step.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion and bell pepper to the fat in the pot and cook 5 to 6 minutes, until they're soft and starting to color at the edges. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds. Don't wash out the pan first. That browned sediment on the bottom is going to dissolve into the liquid in about fifteen minutes and it's the single most flavorful thing in the recipe.
Add the chili powder and cumin to the pan and stir for 30 to 45 seconds, until they're darker and the smell hits the back of your nose. Spices need fat and heat to release; dumping them in with the liquid is how you end up with a pot that tastes seasoned in a flat, dusty way. Now add the rinsed, drained rice and stir for about a minute, coating every grain in the fat. You'll hear it change. Toasting the grains does two things: it firms the outside so it won't break down later, and it cuts the starch on the surface that would otherwise cloud the liquid.
Tip in the whole can of diced tomatoes with its juice, add 1 1/2 cups of water and the salt, and stir once to combine. Now look at it. The liquid should come up about one inch above the surface of the rice. That's the real measurement, which is why I'm telling you to check rather than trust the can. Here's the arithmetic. The can is about 1 1/2 cups. Plus your 1 1/2 cups of water is roughly three cups of liquid for two cups of dry rice noticeably less than the four cups the rice box would tell you to use. And that's on purpose, because your total liquid is coming from three sources at once: the water, the tomatoes, and the fat and drippings the sausage just gave up. Add the full box amount on top of that and the water has nowhere to go.
It collects in the bottom of the pot and turns to paste while the edges catch and dry. So check. Wide Dutch oven, 1 1/2 cups of water should land you right at an inch. Narrow stockpot, add a third more, because the same volume makes a shallower pool.
Bring to a boil, then drop to the lowest simmer your pot will hold. Cook uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, and don't stir it. Not once. Every stir agitates surface starch into what's left of the liquid and thickens exactly what you want to keep as steam. You're watching for the liquid to disappear completely. No free liquid moving in the pot, the grains look wet and glossy rather than dry and chalky, and when you lift the lid you see a visible wisp of steam. That's your signal to cover. Lid on, heat off, 10 minutes. Don't peek. Each lift lets out the steam that's conditioning the top layer of the rice, and the condensation runs back down onto it.
Remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and taste before adding salt. Then pile the cheddar on top while it's still hot enough to melt and cover the whole thing. Sour cream or scallions go on after. If you put them on before the lid, you get a sad, warm layer on top of a properly melted one.
