Zesty Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

A little twist on stuffed peppers. I like a little heat to tingle my mouth and this worked pretty well for me. Serve with steamed veggies, or a soup. This is a knockoff of Dana's recipe.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup  hot pepper sauce
• 4  large green peppers
• 1  lb ground beef
• 3⁄4 cup  uncooked basmati rice
• 3⁄4 cup salsa
• 1  teaspoon cumin
• 2  teaspoons onion powder
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1  teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4  roma tomatoes
• 1  cup water, divided
• 1⁄2 cup  grated cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Add the hot pepper sauce and peppers, bring to a boil again and cook for 5 minutes.
4. When cooked, drain and place in an 8x8inch casserole with high sides.
5. Brown ground meat in skillet, adding rice, salsa, cumin, onion powder, salt and pepper half way through browning. Simmer for about 10 mins, adding water as needed to keep things moist.
6. Cut tomatoes in quarters, lengthwise.
7. Stuff peppers first with tomatoes, arranging them so they nestle in the ribs inside of the peppers.
8. Stuff each pepper with meat mix, pour 1/4 cup of water into each pepper.
9. Bake peppers covered for 25-30 minutes.
10. Top with grated cheese and bake 5 minutes more.
11. You can substitute tomato juice for the water.