Stuffed Bell Peppers

Last year at school a couple of my roommates made stuffed bell peppers.  They were very good but at the time I wasn't much of a vegetable person, so it never occurred to me to make them again.  Then I evolved into a vegetable lover, the grocery store put bell peppers on sale last week, and I stocked up.  I made the pepper soup again but we still had a lot left, so we decided to try to make stuffed peppers.  They were delicious.

Ingredients:

6 bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed

1 pound lean hamburger meat

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup bell peppers, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 cup cooked rice

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons water

Prepare the peppers by cutting off the tops and removing the seeds.  Place in a large pot of boiling water.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, just long enough to soften them.  Don't boil them for too long, as they must be able to stand for baking.

Brown the hamburger meat, onion, chopped bell peppers, and garlic in a skillet.  When cooked, add the rice, crushed red pepper, tomatoes, tomato paste, and water.  Mix thoroughly.

Stuff mixture into the peppers and place in baking dish.  Add water to the bottom of the pan to cover to the bottom of the peppers.  Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.