Stuffed Peppers Your Way

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Wash peppers, slice tops off, remove stems, and chop the pepper tops and onion. Set the whole peppers aside. Cook rice according to package directions.

Brown ground meat on medium heat and drain excess fat. Return meat to pan. Add onion, garlic and chopped pepper tops. Cook for about 5 minutes and add sauce and basil. Add cooked rice, 1/4 cup of cheese, cover and reduce heat to low. Continue cooking for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the whole peppers to a large pot of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Remove peppers to a casserole dish. Melt butter in the microwave, add bread crumbs and the rest of cheese to the melted butter; set aside. Fill each pepper generously with the meat mixture and top with bread crumb mixture. Bake for 20 minutes and tops are golden brown.

Note: If you want to make a meatless version, substitute meat with chopped carrots and celery, 1/2 cup each.