Ingredients:
4 peppers
Cooked rice, either white or brown 1 1/2 cups
1 lb ground sirloin
1 lb ground sirloin
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Olive oil
Directions:
Cut each pepper in half vertically. Clean out seeds and reserve 1/2 of one pepper for chopping. Plunge the remainder of the pepper halves into boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, and place into baking dish.
Saute beef with a little olive oil, breaking up until fine, and cooked through. drain into a bowl, and clean out pan. Add olive oil and onions, and saute until golden, add garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then place onion mixture into the bowl with the meat. Add more olive oil if needed, mushrooms, zucchini, and pepper into the pan and saute until starting to soften, about 6-8 minutes. Add to the bowl. Stir in the tomato sauce, 1/4 cup cheese, and the herbs, along with the rice and salt & pepper. Combine thoroughly and add mixture to the reserved peppers. Taste to see if you need more salt and pepper. Give each one a generous portion. Sprinkle with olive oil, then with the bread crumbs, and then another sprinkle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Top with the remainder of the cheese.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 1/2 hour. I cover with foil for the first 20 minutes so the cheese does not burn.
When I saute vegetables, I always add a bit of kosher salt to the pan. It helps them to break down the sugars and cook faster, it also creates a layer of flavor into each component of a dish.