Stuffed Bell Peppers

4 large green, red, yellow or orange bell peppers
1 ½ lbs ground beef, ground pork, ground lamb or bulk pork sausage
2/3 c chopped onion
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
⅔ c basmati rice
1 t. dried basil, crushed
¼ t. dried oregano, crushed
1 c. water
½ t. salt
½ t. pepper
tomato sauce, optional

1 c. shredded cheddar or soy cheese

Halve the peppers lengthwise, removing the stem ends, seeds and membranes. Immerse the peppers into boiling water for 3 minutes.  Sprinkle the insides of the peppers with salt and then invert to drain on paper towels.

In a skillet, cook the meat and onion until the meat is brown and the onion is tender. Drain fat. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, the uncooked rice, dried basil and oregano, water, salt and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or so or until the rice is tender. At this point you can make a non-dairy version of the recipe by using soy cheese or you can make both dairy and non-dairy by taking out some of the basic part of the recipe and mixing in cheddar for the dairy portion and soy cheese for the non-dairy portion or simply use regular cheddar cheese. Stir in ½ c. of your choice of cheese. Fill peppers with the meat mixture. Place in a 9 x 13" baking pan; I usually line mine with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. (Top with a thin layer of tomato sauce -- optional.) Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

These re-heat well.