This is a very flavorful recipe that is quite filling, but you can simply eat less of it.  It’s very good, be sure not to chop off the stems and follow the directions closely!  The microwaving of peppers saved tons of time versus boiling them!  We did not use all the olive oil because the chorizo added enough fat to the mix, we PAM’ed the baking sheet.  Eating 2 halves is too filling for me, to show you how filling these are!  (After buying the Uncle Ben’s rice pouch, we realized how bad of a deal it was, we just used already cooked rice we had on hand instead.)  

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 red bell peppers, halved (step left intact), cored, and seeded
• 4 teaspoons olive oil (estimation is fine here)
• 8 oz. lean ground beef (can substitute ground turkey or chicken)
• 4 oz. andouille sausage, chopped fine (I used pork chorizo)**
• (Next time I am using a milder, less fatty sausage, maybe something like mild Italian sausage or turkey sausage).
• 1 onion, chopped fine (I used onion powder)**
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (I used garlic powder)
• EITHER 1 (8.8oz) package Uncle Ben’s Original Long Grain ready rice package or 2 cups already prepared rice
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used 5 drops)**
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• Salt and pepper**

****Known IC irritants, tread carefully!

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack and heat broiler.  Microwave peppers until just tender 3-6 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tsp. oil in large skillet over med-high heat until just smoking. 
3. Add beef, sausage, and onion, cook until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Stir in rice and hot sauce and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
6. Off heat, stir in 1 cup cheese and season with salt and pepper.
7. Pat peppers dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Carefully brush preheated baking sheet with remaining oil (we saved calories and used PAM spray). 
8. Place peppers, cut size down, on baking sheet and broil until spotty brown, about 3 minutes.
9. Flip peppers and fill with beef mixture.
10. Top with remaining cheese.
11. Broil until cheese is spotty brown, about 5 mins.  Serve.