Unstuffed Bell Peppers

I find it rather funny... growing up my mom used to make this meal, and I would meticulously pick out every piece of bell pepper that was in it. I never, ever thought I would make this myself. About 10 years ago, I was at a vegetable stand getting some fruit and vegetables for me and my daughter and I saw these bell peppers in a basket and they just looked so pretty. I picked one up and squeezed it and then smelled it, and I had never smelled anything so amazing. I bought them, brought them home and made this meal. I make it at least once a month now. And now it's my daughter's turn to meticulously pick out all traces of pepper in the mixture. This is a very easy meal to make, and the leftovers warm up very well, which is great for lunches. It's also very flexible. You can make as much or as little as you want or you can have it more meat heavy or more rice and bell pepper heavy, which is how I make it.

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

1-2 small to medium jalapeños

2-3 tsps minced garlic

2-4 cups uncooked instant Minute rice (white or brown works fine, and sometimes I mix them)

1-3 green bell peppers

2-4 cans tomato sauce

season all salt

Brown the ground beef in a skillet large enough to hold the whole meal. I season my ground beef with season all salt. It's lower in sodium than regular salt and I just like the flavor better. While the beef cooks, dice up the bell pepper, onion and jalapenos and set aside. 

With just a very light bit of pink left to the meat, add the jalapeños and onion and continue cooking until the beef is thoroughly cooked. Add the garlic and mix well.

Now here's the hard part... pour in as much rice as you want for the mixture of meat to rice that you desire. Afraid I have never once measured how much rice I use, but I guess it's about 2 or 3 cups. Add the bell pepper, and pour the tomato sauce over it all. 

I usually use one to three 15 oz cans of tomato sauce depending on how much rice I add. This batch I added more rice than usual and ended up using two 15 oz cans and a small one. The most important part is that when it's all mixed together it needs to be soupy. Not swimming in tomato sauce, but it cannot be dry. This is what cooks the rice and bell pepper.

Put a lid on it, reduce the heat to med-low or med, and simmer for about 20 minutes. The rice will be tender when it's done. You need to stir it frequently to ensure it doesn't stick or burn, but that's it. What I love most about the recipe is that the bell pepper cooks some, but still maintains a bit of crunch to it. Lots of flavors in this meal. And as I said, it's super EASY to make, and it reheats very well. Let me know if you try it and alter it any!