Stuffed Bell Peppers
- 6 large bell peppers (any colour), halved and seeded
- 2 cups cooked rice (use leftover or make fresh)
- 3/4 lb lean ground beef
- 3/4 lb spicy Italian sausage
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 (15oz / 426ml) can tomato sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
-
salt and ground black pepper to taste
-
2 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drizzle olive oil in a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
Fill a separate saucepan with water and bring to a boil; add bell peppers and simmer for 3 minutes. Transfer peppers to a bowl of ice water until peppers are cooled. Arrange peppers in the prepared casserole dish.
Cook ground beef & sausage in skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease. Return skillet and add onion and cooked rice. Mix. Add tomato sauce and stir to combine.
Mix garlic, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper into rice mixture. Simmer until flavors have combined, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and spoon rice mixture into each bell pepper half. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over each filled pepper. Cover casserole dish with aluminum foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and continue to bake until cheese is bubbling and melted, about 15 more minutes.
note: can freeze unused rice mixture if making less than 6 peppers