Stuffed Peppers

Dad's famous "recipe". And I use quotes, because there was never really a written recipe, it was just a general idea that you had to feel your way through. Here's an attempt to quantify the ingredient amounts and put a step by step recipe together.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

4-5 colored bell peppers

1/2 to 1 full packet of chili powder

3/4 jar of ragu sauce (26 oz jar)

1 can sliced mushrooms

shredded mozzarella (optional)

1 box instant rice (only part of the box will be used)

2 1/2 cups water

ground red pepper or cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

For the Peppers:

1. Half the peppers the long way and remove ribs

2. Put halved peppers onto a baking tray and into the oven at 350

3. After peppers seem baked well, but not burned, flip them and put them back in the oven

For the Filling:

1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet

2. Drain the excess fat

3. Add chili powder, sauce, mushrooms, and water (add water incrementally and see what looks right)

4. Bring mixture to a slow boil on med/hi heat

5. Add ground red pepper / cayenne and rice (amount of rice is personal preference, make the mixture look the way you want it to be)

6. While cooking, add more ground red pepper / cayenne to desired level of hotness.

7. Cook until the rice is done and the sauce thickens up. If during the cooking process, it seems too watery, add more rice. If it seems like there is not enough liquid for the rice to fully cook, add more water.

8. Add the filling to the peppers

9. Bake filled peppers for 20 minutes

10. Just before peppers are done, add shredded mozzarella cheese and melt in the oven on the top rack or broiler (optional)

UPDATE- (this is Jen) I just added a pic from when Dave and I most recently made this. Thanks again for writing up the recipe, Matt/Melissa!