Mom’s Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups rice raw white cooked (starting from)
• 4 large to 6 bell peppers green red yellow (, , or )
• 1 pound ground beef 16% (ground chuck, fat)
• 6 large basil leaves dried fresh chopped (or)
• 0.5 teaspoon summer savory dry
• 0.5 teaspoon ground marjoram fresh chopped (or 2 teaspoons of )
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 4 servings pepper black freshly ground
• 0.3 cup olive oil extra virgin 
• 4 servings paprika 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• oven
• pot

Directions

1. Cook the rice: If you haven't already made the rice, start cooking the rice following the package instructions (usually 1 cup of raw white rice plus 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.)
2. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers.
3. Remove and discard (compost) the stem and seeds.
4. Place bell peppers cut side up on a steaming rack over an inch of water in a large covered pot. Bring to boil, let steam for 10 minutes. (Note you can skip this step if you want, but steaming the pepper shells first will make them more tender and easier to eat.)
5. Heat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl mix together the ground beef, basil, summer savory, marjoram, salt, several turns of black pepper, and the cooked rice.
6. Remove bell peppers from steamer pan.
7. Place cut side up in a pyrex or other oven-proof casserole. Gently stuff the peppers with the ground beef rice mixture.
8. Drizzle olive oil over the stuffed peppers, along the outside of the peppers, and into the pan. Rub the oil over the outside of the peppers; it will help with browning.
9. Sprinkle the tops generously with paprika.
10. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 350°F for 35-50 minutes, or longer, until the meat is cooked through.
11. Serve with ketchup.