Mexican Stuffed Peppers

For years, which thinking about it now seems ridiculous, I have been wanting to try to make stuffed peppers. I honestly hadn't ever even tried them before. I'm not a fan of raw green peppers and the yellow and red peppers are usually pretty pricey at the store. (The cooked ones are much more tolerable! :)) A few weeks ago Aldi had a bag of 3 peppers priced at 99 cents. I snatched up two bags and kind of hoarded them hoping they would last forever. :) Of course, the next time I looked at them, they were in desperate need to be used and in came this recipe. It was a great change from my usual Mexican meals and very filling. Now I'm left hoping Aldi runs another great deal soon...maybe I'll get three bags next time! ;)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

2 cups white rice, cooked

4-6 bell peppers, any color

1 package taco seasoning

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil.

2. Prepare the bell peppers. Cut of top and use a spoon to remove the core and as much of the white inside as possible.

3. When water is boiling, carefully drop in the bell peppers and let cook for 3 minutes. Remove with tongs and let drain on a paper towel.

(Don't worry, the floaties seen in the pic are part of the cores I scooped out!)

4. Brown and drain ground beef.

5. Add in diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, and cooked rice. Stir to combine.

6. Place partially cooked bell peppers in a baking dish. You may need to slice a bit of the bottom off so they can stand up. Or just smoosh them in a snug dish.

7. Fill with the beef and rice mixture. If you use only 4 peppers, there will probably be leftover mixture but it tastes great in soft tacos or nachos for lunch the next day!

8. Top peppers with cheese and place in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Ole! ;)