Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

In a large microwavable container, add rice, warm water, bouillon, tomato paste and pepper. Make sure paste is well incorporated into the rice mixture. It helps if your water is warm, then you can dissolve your bouillon and paste before adding to rice. Once mixed, place in microwave with lid slightly covering but not closed and microwave for about 5 mins. Let rice sit for another 5 mins or until liquid is dissolved and rice is tender to fluff with a fork.

Set aside rice mixture with lid on to stay warm and in a Large Pan, add about a tbs of olive oil and start cooking down onion, garlic, carrots, red bell pepper and zucchini. Cook on about Medium temperature until vegetables are tender but not over cooked. You want them to keep their shape when incorporating all ingredients. Remove from pan & set aside.

In the same pan, start cooking your ground beef until well browned. Approximately 5mins. Drain all fat from beef with a spoon. Adjust your temperature to med low and add your cooked vegetables and the can of tomato sauce. Fold in all ingredients and simmer on low for about 5 mins more.

Turn off stove and allow mixture to cool down. Taking your green bell peppers, cut in half so they create little cups and can stand up on their own on the pan. Remove core, stems and all seeds. Using any large baking dish, cover entire bottom in foil to eliminate messy cleanup. Place all pepper halves on bottom about 1/2 inch away from each other

Preheat oven to 375F

Take beef and vegetable mixture and in a large bowl mix into rice. Fold ingredients together as to not mush up rice or break down vegetables. This is the seasoning stage. Adjust flavors to your preferences by adding more salt or herbs if you choosing. Once everything is mixed well, start filling pepper halves by pushing down rice/meat mixture until they are fully filled. You may have extra filling which is always yummy on it's own. :)

Once all pepper halves are completed, pile on shredded cheese. Cover entire pan and peppers with foil trying not to touch tops of peppers. Make sure there is a slit on the top for steam. Place in oven and cook for about 30 mins. During the last 5 mins, remove foil and allow cheese to brown.

I serve these on their own with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. You can change up the recipe and add mushrooms if desired or even substitute white rice for brown. I made a low carb version without rice and used 3lbs of ground beef and a pound of lean sausage instead. The possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy!