Stuffed Peppers

Since it's getting colder outside (we had our first snowfall here already!), I like to make warm, satisfying meals. Stuffed peppers is just that. These aren't one of our weeknight meals because they are a tad time consuming, so I usually reserve this meal for Sunday dinners. I like to use yellow, orange, and red bell peppers because they are sweeter than green. I also add Parmesan cheese to the tops of the peppers while they are baking for a nice crust on top.

Ingredients:

6 bell peppers, hulled out (I use yellow, orange, and red.)

1 pound ground beef

1 bag boil-in-bag white rice

2 jars of favorite tomato sauce

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, divided

1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Hull out peppers removing seeds and ribs.

If needed, slice bottoms to make them stand up.

Lightly grease glass baking dish.

Boil rice according to directions.

Drain rice, transfer to a bowl, and set aside.

Brown ground beef.

Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic to ground beef.

Drain ground beef.

Mix together with rice.

Add 1 jar of tomato sauce and a few shakes of salt and pepper.

Add bread crumbs, half of the Parmesan cheese, and cheddar cheese.

Mix until well combined.

Stuff each pepper with beef and rice mixture.

Stand up peppers in baking dish.

Pour 1 jar of sauce on top of peppers.

Cover with foil and bake 1 hour.

Remove foil and sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake an additional 20 - 30 minutes until peppers are soft.

Serve with crusty Italian bread and a Caesar salad.