Arrrgh!!!

6 large green bell peppers
1 pound ground beef
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 cup cooked rice
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon basil leaves, crushed
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Slice the tops off the peppers. Discard the seeds and membranes. Mince the pepper tops to make ½ cups and set aside.

In a kettle, over high heat, bring an inch of water to a boil. Add the peppers cut side down. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain peppers on paper towels. Empty the skillet and dry it.

Return the pan to medium high heat, and cook the beef, onion, and chopped green pepper until the meat is browned and the vegetables are tender. Drain off the fat. Stir in the rice, 1 cup tomato sauce, Worcestershire, salt and basil. Bring to a boil; remove from heat.

Spoon the meat mixture into the pepper shells. In a 10 x 6 baking dish, place the stuffed shells upright. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the peppers and cover with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10 minutes more.

My household makes a few changes to this recipe. We add a little more onion to the mix, using an entire small onion rather than limiting it to a quarter cup. We also use a little more tomato sauce. Another 8 ounce can of sauce is more than enough. Occasionally I add a little cheese to the beef and rice mixture as well as sprinkling it on the top.

This is a great meal to serve when the peppers ripen, and those of you who don’t care for green pepper can substitute red peppers for the shell.