Stuffed Bell Peppers

        My mom makes the best stuffed peppers. When I was little I would always eat the stuffing and leave the pepper.  Now that I am older and not at all picky anymore, I enjoy the entire thing! 

        Bell Peppers come in 4 different colors: Green, Red, Orange, and Yellow. They all come from the same plant, but the color does change the taste and nutrition value.  Green bell peppers are the least ripe of all bell pepper types. Green-colored bell peppers have not matured as much as the other colors have and they are not as sweet in flavor. Red bell peppers are more mature and sweeter than green peppers. They become red once they are ripe.  Orange and Yellow bell peppers are even sweeter thank red and green.  I like the sweeter peppers and think the variety in color look so pretty, that I use Red, Orange, and Yellow pepper.

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Ingredients:

* 4 Bell Peppers

* 1 lb of lean ground Beef or Ground Turkey (I like Beef)

* 1/2 cup of Uncle Ben's white Rice, this will make 2 cups of cooked rice. (I do not use minute rice. It does not have the same texture)

* 1 1/3 cups of water

* 1 TBSP of Olive Oil

* 1/8 cup of chopped Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley

* 1 cup of Grated Cheese (I use a blend of Pecorino and Parmesan)

* 2 Cloves of Garlic

* 1 Onion

* 4 cups of Sauce (I use a Tomato Basil Sauce)

* Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure:

* Pre-heat oven to 375 Degrees

* In a medium pot, add 1 1/3 cups of Water, 1/2 cup of Rice, and 1 TBSP of Olive Oil. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Set aside.

* Meanwhile, finely Chop an Onion and the Garlic Cloves.

* In a large frying pan, cook the Ground Beef with the Onion and Garlic until the meat is fully cooked.

*In a Mixing Bowl, put Meat mixture, Rice, Chopped Parsley, Grated Cheese, 6 TBSP of the Tomato Sauce, Salt and Pepper. Set Aside.

* Cut the Tops of your Bell Peppers off and save.  With your hand, clean out the inside of the Bell Peppers.

* In a square Square Baking Dish or a Casserole dish big enough for 4 peppers, pour Sauce half way up the Dish.

* Stuff the Peppers with the Mixture all the way to the top.

* Place the peppers in the Baking dish and spoon some sauce over the top.

* Put the top of the pepper back on the pepper (Optional, I eat the top too and it looks pretty)

* Cover with Foil and bake for 1 hour.

* Take cover off and bake another 20 minutes or until the pepper is as cooked as you like it. (I like it soft) 

* When done, you can eat the whole thing your self or cut them in half! 

Enjoy!