Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers were a staple when I was young at the shore house.  My aunt would start them well before any of us were awake, and the smell of them cooking (mixed with brewing coffee) would slowly coax us out of bed.  She would let  the peppers simmer for a couple of hours and then reheat them when we got back from the beach. 
The memories made me smile recently as the aroma filtered through my house.....

Ingredients:
4 peppers, cut off the top and clean out the seeds ~ I prefer using red or yellow
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup long grain rice
2 cups marinara sauce ~ homemade or store bought
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Italian cheese + a little more for topping
fresh basil

Directions:
Mix together the ground beef, rice, 1/2 cup marinara sauce, salt/pepper, cheese
Fill each pepper
Cover the bottom of a large sauce pan with a little of the remaining sauce
Add the peppers ~ be sure that they are balanced so that they remaining standing
Top with a little more of the sauce, cheese, and a couple of basil leafs
Add the remaining sauce to the pan
Cover and cook very slowly for a couple of hours

Don't forget the crusty Italian bread to soak up all the flavors of the pepper and sauce at the bottom of the pan!

Enjoy!

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