Ingredients:

6 large bell peppers (green, red or yellow)

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, finely diced

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

dash of pepper

1 cup dry rice, cooked

1 (15 ounce) can spaghetti sauce

3/4 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp)

Directions:

1. Cut stem end off each pepper. Remove seeds and membranes; rinse. Cook peppers in enough boiling water to cover 5 minutes; drain. Carefully move the peppers to a 9x12 inch ungreased baking pan in a standing upright position.

2. Cook and stir the ground beef and onion in skillet until hamburger is brown; drain. Stir in all the ingredients up to the cooked rice, and 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce; heat thoroughly.

3. Stuff each pepper with the meat mixture. Pour remaining sauce over peppers. Cover with foil; cook in 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes. Uncover; cook 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

Someone brought this to my attention, "Why should we trust your recipes? What qualifies you as a cook?"

I never thought I had to explain myself before. But if you don't know me, I can understand.

I can tell you that I love to cook. I am one of those cooks who often create her own recipe without even writing it down. This irritates people who would like a copy of one of my homemade recipes. Then I have to think the steps through. This is what I did when I wrote about my Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup on Squidoo. I gave away my secret ingredient. You can look me up there under sandyspider. My soup recipe was published in a recipe book, along with some other special cooks on Squidoo.

I am not one to brag. But I can tell you that I am a great cook. I was taught by my mother, but I do like my cooking better than hers. I am always trying to find ways to recreate a recipe that I find. I will say to myself, “I think this recipe would taste better with a teaspoon of cinnamon or oregano.” Or I will add something that most people don’t even think about, like my soup recipe.

If you get a chance to try any recipe that I write about, let me know what you think about it. Bon Appetite.

This is my own recipe that I use most often. I find it tastier than the Traditional Stuffed Pepper recipe. Last time I used red bell peppers. Red bell peppers are a little sweeter than the green bell peppers.

Ingredients:

6 large green bell peppers

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 package taco seasoning mix

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or desired amount)

1 box Spanish Rice Mix

1 1/2 cups water

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes (crushed)

1 tablespoon butter

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Cut thin slice from stem end of each pepper. Remove seeds and membranes; rinse. Cook peppers in enough boiling water to cover 5 minutes; drain.

2. Cook and stir hamburger and onion in 10-inch skillet until hamburger is light brown; drain. Add taco seasoning mix. Cook as directed on package.

3. In a two quart saucepan cook the Spanish rice as instructed. According to the directions on the box that I have: Combine 1 1/2 cups water, 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes (crushed), 1 tablespoon butter and Spanish Rice Mix. Stir well and bring to boil.

4. Stir rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes or until all water is absorbed.

5. Remove rice mixture from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

6. Combine hamburger and rice mixture.

3. Stuff each pepper with mixture; stand upright in ungreased baking dish, 9x12 inches. Pour tomato sauce over peppers. Cover with foil; cook in 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes. Uncover; cook 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

Note: I have substituted chili in place of the rice or combined the two. The great thing about stuffed peppers is that you can use your imagination.