Stuffed Peppers

Spiced beef and rice fill these tender, flavorful peppers. Bringing the sauce to a boil before adding it to the dish cuts down on the overall cook time of this 45-minute recipe.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed pepper and 1/3 cup sauce)

Ingredients
* 1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag long-grain rice
* 4 medium red bell peppers
* 3/4 pound ground sirloin
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
* 2 cups bottled tomato-and-basil pasta sauce (such as Classico), divided
* 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup dry red wine
* Cooking spray


Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°.

Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Set aside.

While rice cooks, cut tops off bell peppers; reserve tops. Discard seeds and membranes. Place peppers, cut sides down, in an 8-inch square baking dish; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at high 2 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender. Cool.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and the next 5 ingredients (beef through allspice); cook 4 minutes or until beef is lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat. Add rice, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, and cheese to beef mixture, stirring to combine.

While beef cooks, combine 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce and wine in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.

Spoon about 3/4 cup beef mixture into each pepper. Place peppers in a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; add wine mixture to pan. Cover with foil.

Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve peppers with sauce. Garnish with pepper tops.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 347 (20% from fat)
Fat: 7.9g (sat 3.9g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.7g)
Protein: 26.6g
Carbohydrate: 39.9g
Fiber: 4.6g
Cholesterol: 55mg
Iron: 4.1mg
Sodium: 747mg
Calcium: 284mg

source by: myrecipes.com
recipes by: Cooking Light
Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Melanie J. Clarke