cheesy stuffed bell peppers

by tijuana, 11/06/2011

i love this stuffed bell pepper recipe. it has a lot of flavor and not too much tomato sauce like i find in a lot of stuffed bell pepper recipes. switch out the meat with ground turkey, pork, chicken or go vegetarian! top with whatever cheese you have on hand. for faster cooking, consider blanching or microwaving the bell peppers before baking.

total Time: 50 minutes
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 35 minutes
yield: 6 servings

ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked rice -
1 cup chicken stock - *bouillon based
1 tablespoon canola oil -
1 lb hamburger meat -
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce -
1/2 onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes - drained
1/2 cup ragu tomato sauce -
6 bell peppers - top cut off, seeds/ribs removed
water -
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese -

instructions:

preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
in a small pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil. add the rice, lower to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
preheat a skillet over high heat with canola oil. once hot and smoking, add the hamburger meat. season with salt/pepper to taste. stir-fry and break into pieces until the meat is cooked through and brown. drain off any excess grease.
add in the worcestershire sauce, garlic and onions. saute for a few minutes until onions are slightly tender. stir in the chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce.
lower the heat to a simmer and let the flavors marry for about 5 minutes.
add in the cooked rice and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese. stir to coat.
place the bell peppers upright in a baking dish. fill each pepper with the hamburger meat mixture. add a small amount of water to the bottom of the baking dish to steam the peppers as they cook. cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until bell peppers are tender. remove sooner if you like a little more crunch.
remove foil and top with remaining cheese. put back in the oven and bake about 5 more minutes until cheese is melted.