Meat FULL Mondays: Stuffed Bell Peppers

So, I don't know about anyone else, but while interning in Washington D.C. this summer, I saw one too many "Meatless Monday" advertisements! They even have Meatless Mondays in the Capitol Hill cafeteria. Which - may or may not have infuriated me. So, I will go ahead and start my own trend: Meat FULL Mondays, because well, everyone needs  a little more beef in their life.
Disclaimer: I promise not to exclude chicken and pork too. They deserve attention. I love lamb and turkey, but I'll go ahead and admit cooking them is not my forte.

So, to kick off my recipe series, I'll introduce Stuffed Bell Peppers. This recipe is grand for two reasons: 1) you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry and 2) it's delicious.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small white onion
1 lb ground beef
2 cups water
2 cups white rice
4 green bell peppers (or red/yellow, whatever you prefer)
4 slices cheddar cheese
Worcestershire sauce
Oregano
Pepper
Salt

Alright, here we go.

First, I suggest you go ahead and purchase a large Diet Vanilla Dr. Pepper from Sonic. Yep, ours come complete with a Double T....only validating it is the best drink EVER.

Now that you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, put your olive oil in a pan on the stove, and light it up. (Not literally, but, you know.) Chop up your onion and throw it in the pan. Then add your ground beef too.

In case anyone noticed the nifty meat stirrer/chopper thing I am using, it's only the best piece of kitchen equipment a girl can own. You can check it out and order one at  Pampered Chef, I would suggest the investment.

Then, while your meat is browning, put 2 cups of water on, and bring to a boil.

Then, add 2 cups of rice to the boiling water, remove from heat, and cover with a lid.

Meanwhile, back at the meat pan, add a dash of oregano.

Add a little dash of salt.

And also a dash of pepper, or a couple dashes if you love pepper.

Then, add the rice to the meat mixture, and also a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Next, add a can of Rotel. I noticed as I was adding my can, that it read "HOT"...oops....I meant to grab "MILD". I would really suggest adding a can of mild. Our finished product was a wee bit on the spicy side.

Then, take your bell peppers, wash them, and cut the tops off.

Stuff the beef/rice mixture into the bell peppers.

Does it look tastey? It should.

Go ahead and pop those babies in the oven for 40 minutes. I only made 3 bell peppers, yet, mine were over-stuffed, and I had quite a bit of rice/beef left in the pan. Which, the boy took advantage of.

I checked on them half-way through. Funny how the oven light looks like a beacon from the Heaven's above, because that's what they smelled like.

After the timer has gone off, add a slice of cheese to the top of each bell pepper, and cook for about 5 more minutes.

And, wahhhlahhh! The finished, delicious stuffed bell pepper. Simple to make, and as far as I know, it's fairly healthy! Yum!

Enjoy! Have a marvelous Monday, and be sure to get your daily serving of beef today!