Stuffed Bell Peppers
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
cooking oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground hamburger (ground turkey or chicken would also be good)
salt and pepper
1 - 26 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce
4 large or 6 medium bell peppers (red and yellow are our favorites - mild and sweet)
1 cup shredded cheese (we use colby jack)
Directions:
Place rice and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 12-15 minutes. When the rice is done, remove from heat and leave the lid on until time to add to the hamburger mixture.
In a large skillet, heat oil (I use extra virgin olive oil). Add onion and garlic, saute. Add hamburger, season with salt and pepper, cook until browned.
While onion, garlic and hamburger is cooking, wash and prepare peppers for stuffing. Cut peppers in half lengthwise, cut out stems and scrape out white membranes and seeds. (I have found the easiest way to do this is with a melon baller. They're small, round and sharp and it goes much faster.) Place pepper shells, cut side up, in a large baking dish.
Once the hamburger is done, drain any grease. Stir in the cooked rice and the spaghetti sauce. Add a little hot water to the spaghetti sauce jar and shake it to get every last bit - put this in the hamburger mixture as well.
Spoon the hamburger mixture into the pepper shells. (I use a Pampered Chef Large Scoop for this.) Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle grated cheese over the peppers and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
I have found that you can sneak other vegetables in, too. I like to chop mushrooms and saute them with the onion and garlic. This dish serves 4 to 8, depending on size of appetite. Hubby eats 2 pepper halves, I eat one at a sitting. They taste really good reheated, too, which is a bonus.
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