Ingredients:
6-8 green peppers (small ones work best for more pepper flavor)
4 lbs ground meat mixture (a mixture of ground beef and ground pork)
¾ cup long grain rice (do not use instant)
1 onion
1 Teaspoon minced garlic from jar or 3-4 cloves chopped fine.
2 cans of diced tomatoes -14.5 oz size. Can use plain or seasoned. If you like your food spicy you can use the fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
Salt, pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon paprika
small can of diced green chilies (optional)
Small amount of oil
Large roasting pan (I prefer to use the blue speckled with lid-it gives the peppers a darker color when roasted)
In a sauce pan large enough to brown all the meat, first dice and sauté onion and garlic in small amount of oil until translucent. Add rice to onion mixture and mix well so rice gets coated with the oil and onion flavor. Add 1 and 1/5 cans of the diced tomatoes to this mixture. Continue sautéing for a few minutes and then remove to a side dish.
In same pan brown the beef and pork. You want it to be ground loosely in small pieces. Can use a potato masher as it browns to achieve this. Spoon out meat to side dish and drain excess grease. Return meat, onion mixture, salt, pepper and paprika to pan. Continue to break up meat if there are still large chunks. If everyone in the family likes spicy food, a few tablespoons or small can of green chilies can be added to the meat mixture.
While the meat is browning prepare the green peppers. Wash, slice off tops and scoop out seeds and membranes. Dice the tops into small pieces which you can add to the meat mixture for more flavor and color. Put a thin layer of meat mixture in bottom of roasting pan. Stuff each pepper with meat mixture and lay each pepper on it’s side in pan. Put excess meat in-between peppers or on top. Add the other ½ can of diced tomatoes on top. Add water to pan, about ¼ of the way up.
Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn peppers carefully so as not to spill filling but so other side of pepper is facing up. If all the water has been absorbed, you might want to add a little more.
Bake another 30 minutes with lid.
Remove lid and continue baking for about 20 minutes to darken the skin of the pepper. Peppers can be rotated once again during this time. (Some people par-boil the peppers to remove the skin but I have never done this. For those who prefer not to eat the skin, it can be easily peeled off when it is charred from the roasting.
Serving at table. Spoon out a pepper and add some of the loose meat beside it. A nice garnish is crumbled
Feta cheese sprinkled over it or red pepper flakes for extra seasoning.