Aunt Amy's Stuffed Peppers
6 large red or green bell peppers
2½ cups Mexican rice (or rice of your choice) I used leftovers from my dinner the night before
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 small sweet onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bottle Heinz Chili Sauce
2 10-oz can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cut the bell peppers in half, top to bottom. Remove the seeds and the ribs. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, cook the rice according to package directions. In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef and ground pork, onion, and garlic. Drain the meat. In a medium saucepan, bring the Rotel and chili sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, tomato and chili sauce mixture, pepper, and salt and mix until blended.
In 2 - 9×13×2-inch pans, place the bell peppers skin side down. Evenly divide the beef mixture among the pepper halves.** Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes Remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese on the top. Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, until the cheese melts.
**If you are saving one pan for later, stuff peppers and cover tightly with foil and refrigerate or freeze. When you are ready to eat it, bake covered until thoroughly heated throughout at 400 degrees. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese on top and cook an additional 5 minutes until cheese melts.
