Stuffed Peppers

serves 6

• 6 large bell pepper (red, yellow, orange, or green)
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1 can of black beans (15.5 ounces) - rinsed and drained
• 1 can of Rotel tomato (10 ounce) - diced tomatoes with chilies
• 2 cups of cooked white rice
• 1 and 1/2 cups of grated cheese (Mexican Four Cheese blend preferred)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In large frying pan, brown ground beef well and drain off fat. Add the Rotel tomatoes and the rinsed black beans. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 5 minutes.

While mixture simmers, cut tops off peppers and remove the stem and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the bottom of each pepper so peppers are flat on the bottom and will stand upright.

Let beef mixture cool about 5 minutes, and then mix in cooked rice and cheese. Stuff each pepper with the meat/rice mixture, pushing it down so peppers are tightly filled.

Place peppers in a dish small enough to hold them snugly and cover the dish with foil. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 10-15 minutes more, until tops are slightly browned and pepper skin can be pierced easily with a fork.

Serve immediately.