Stuffed Peppers (made easy)

I've made stuffed peppers only once before, and they were awful.  I haven't liked them *anywhere* I've had them yet, really.  To be honest, wanting to make my own for dinner was a surprise to even me, mostly because there are so many steps I get intimidated (plus the tomato "gravy" on most recipes makes me gag).  I decided there must be a better way.  After all, stuffed peppers are really like meatloaf or meatballs, just packed into peppers, right?  And I love all of those things.

So Tuesday night I made up my own simple recipe, gag-free.  :)  And I think it turned out pretty darn great.  It's nothing fancy, and many of you might have recipes you really love or maybe you already make it like this, but this was the first time I ever enjoyed eating stuffed peppers.  If I'd had a bigger stomach, I'd have gone for seconds.  But these are pretty CRAZILY filling as-is, especially if your green peppers are as huge as ours were.  :)

You need:
6 green peppers, tops cut off and seeded
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped finely
1 Tbsp garlic powder (or to taste...we LOVE garlic...)
1 c. rice
2 c. water
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Shredded or Parmesan Cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil peppers in hot water 10 minutes.  Drain, set in greased/sprayed baking dish (an 11x7 works well), and sprinkle insides with salt.
2. In same pot, brown ground beef with onion and garlic. 
3. Add rice, water, and half of the jar of spaghetti sauce, and stir.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes (or 'til rice is tender...I'd love to try it with brown rice next time and cook a little longer).
4. PACK that meat mixture into the prepared peppers.  Cover with remaining spaghetti sauce and sprinkle with cheese, if desired. 
5. Bake uncovered in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes.  (Everything is already cooked/warmed, so really you're just wanting the cheese to brown...maybe even get rid of some of the moisture in the hamburger mixture so it holds together better.)

Serve warm and enjoy!  :)

The spaghetti sauce and the garlic is what did this for me.  It was like eating spaghetti and meatballs...without the spaghetti.  :)  YUM.  I would LOVE to try these with those mini sweet peppers sometime as a more kid-friendly, colorful alternative.  Maybe next time.  :)