Cook bacon until crisp, in a Dutch oven if possible. Remove from pan, crumble, and drain grease, reserving 2 tbsp. in the pan. Return the pan to medium heat and add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook until onion is translucent.
While vegetables are cooking, pulse tomatoes 2-3 times in a blender to chop them. Pour into pan with vegetables. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Stir, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook 20-25 minutes for low elevations or about 1 hour for high elevations or until rice is cooked, stirring occasionally to make sure rice is not burning.
When the rice is cooked, add the bacon and heat through.