Italian Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

4 bell peppers, any color

1 lb. ground beef

1 ½ cups Mantia’s jarred tomato pasta sauce, divided

1 Tbsp. Marcum dry Italian seasoning

1 cup Dish’d instant rice, cooked

1 ½ cups Coburn Farms shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Marcum salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Notes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease a square casserole dish.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
3. In a separate small pot or in the microwave, cook the instant rice according to package directions. Note: can also use leftover cooked rice
4. Meanwhile, prepare the bell peppers by slicing off the stem-top about ½-inch from the top of the pepper. Use a small knife to carefully cut out the seeds and ribs. Dice the remaining pepper tops into ½ inch squares set to the side to use in the filling.
5. oil the peppers for 2-3 minutes. Carefully drain water from peppers and arrange them in the casserole dish.
6. To make the filling, heat a large skillet over medium heat and lightly grease with oil. Add the beef and cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
7. Reduce heat to low and add 1 cup of pasta sauce, diced peppers and Italian seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes.
8. Add the cooked rice and 1 cup shredded mozzarella to the beef and stir well until cheese is melted. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Spoon the filling into each of the bell peppers and top with additional sauce and shredded mozzarella.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.