Stuffed Bell Peppers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops off each pepper, pull out the stem portions and seeds. Chop enough to make 1/3 cup more or less. Clean out the rest of the pepper so no seeds remain and the center ribs are carved out to make room for stuffing. If pepper does not stand up straight, slice a little off the bottom of the pepper to level it out. In a large saucepan over med-high heat, cook the peppers in boiling water until crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook ar they will get soggy and hard to stuff. Remove from water and rinse with cold water to stop cooking process, drain & set aside. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over med heat then brown ground beef; add garlic, onion, carrot, and reserved chopped peppers; saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, brown sugar, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until much of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. In the meantime, an a small pot, cook the rice according to the package instructions then add to the frying pan and mix well. Place peppers in a baking dish. Stuff hot meat mixture into peppers. Top with shredded cheese. Bake approximately 15 minutes. Serve covered with heated tomato sauce.

Source : Maria Kent