Stuffed Peppers

I started to like cooking when I was about 13.  We were in living in China, and I loved spending my time perusing AllRecipes and adding recipes to my online recipe box.  I think this hobby was partly because I craved so many American foods that we didn't have access to, but I also just loved reading recipes and thinking about if I would like them or not (something I enjoy to this day).  I often helped my mom cook (especially if it was fajita night, which required us to make our tortillas and salsa from scratch since China had not yet realized the delight of Mexican food), but I really wanted to just make dinner by myself one night.  So I decided on stuffed peppers and these crescent rolls (no cans of Pillsbury at the Chinese market).  This recipe for stuffed pepers is originally my Grandmom's.  Like most recipes, it has been tweaked and altered by my mom and I think I've even made a few changes.  Every time I make these, I remember that first night I made them.  Somehow I burned the rice down to just a black circle of ash (which is pretty humiliating since we were living in China, the land of rice), and I had to make another batch while trying to air out the kitchen.  In the end they were delicious, and they are now one of Caleb's favorite dinners that I make.

Stuffed Peppers
1 - 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked rice (I like Jasmine)
1 cup water
6 green bell peppers
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano, divided
salt and pepper to taste
mozzarella cheese, optional

Place rice and water in saucepan and bring to boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.  In skillet over medium heat, cook beef until evenly browned.  Prepare the peppers:  remove and discard tops, seeds, and membranes.  Arrange peppers in baking dish with hollowed sides facing upward.  (You may slice a little of the pepper off the bottom so it stands up straight.  Usually I just look for peppers that have even bumps on the bottom.)

In bowl, mix browned beef, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, and oregano.  Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each pepper.  Mix the remaining tomato sauce and remaining 1/4 tsp oregano in a bowl, and pour over the stuffed peppers.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, basting peppers with sauce every 15 minutes until peppers are tender. (Sometimes I don't do this, because I like a little crunch with my peppers.)  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese the last 10 minutes of baking.