• 4 medium bell peppers
• 1 lb. extra lean ground beef
• 1/4 medium-size yellow onion, chopped fine
• 1 cup cooked white or brown rice
• 1 fresh tomato, diced, or 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 slice American or Velveeta cheese, or 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cut the stem ends off the peppers and reach in with your fingers to pull out the seeds and membranes.  The good thing about bell peppers is that they are really mild and have only a few seeds.  Drop the hollow bell peppers into a large pot of boiling water and cook 5 minutes.  This is known as parboiling and it helps tenderize a vegetable so that it absorbs flavor more easily, or so that it can be cooked more rapidly with other ingredients that “get done” faster than the raw vegetable.

Remove the parboiled peppers with tongs or pour the boiling water into a deep sink, through a colander that will catch the peppers.

Brown the ground beef and chopped onion in a non-stick skillet.  Using extra lean beef means you don’t need to drain off the fat because there really isn’t any.  If you can’t find extra lean beef, remove your peppers from the colander and drain off the fat, first layering an old Thresher or paper towels in your sink under the colander to catch the fat so it doesn’t clog your drain when it cools and solidifies.

Mix the cooked rice, beef, onion, and tomatoes (or tomato paste) together in the skillet.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Place the hollow, parboiled peppers upright in a small casserole dish.  Fill the peppers with the rice and beef mixture.  If you have leftover rice and beef, fill in the casserole dish around the peppers.  Place 1/4 of the cheese on top of each stuffed pepper.  Bake 20 minutes at 350°F.