Spicy Stuffed Peppers

A friend of mine was recently told that she is pre-diabetic, and as a result has changed the way she eats, which has given her some pretty great results in the health AND beauty departments. She's feeling so good, in fact, that I've started thinking maybe it would be a good thing to throw some more healthy meals into my family's mix every now and then(I say this as I sit munching on a Chunky Chewy Blondie--thanks Two Peas in Their Pod!). First step is to find some great healthy recipes that I can get excited about making and eating. Not so easy. UNTIL...I found Kalyn's Kitchen! She is a blogger from Salt Lake City, Utah who lost 40 lbs on the South Beach Diet and is now cooking to just maintain her weight loss. Her blog is fabulous, with tons of deliciously appealing recipes to browse through--complete with gorgeous photos. I saw her recipe for Southwestern Stuffed Peppers and decided to tweak it just a bit for my taste. YUMMO! We all loved them. PLUS, the leftovers are great for--you guessed it--HASH, along with burritos. If you'd like some healthy options to try out every now and then, check out Kalyn's blog at www.kalynskitchen.blogspot.com.

5-6 large bell peppers
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup rice, uncooked(I used Uncle Bens)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
2 cups beef broth
1 onion, diced
a few different varieties of chile powder(I used New Mexico and adobo)
granulated garlic
dried oregano
salt and pepper
worcestershire sauce
shredded cheese

Add ground beef and onion to hot pan; cook until beef is browned. Drain grease. Add beans, rice, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, chile powders(to taste), garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and a handful of shakes of worcestershire. Bring to a high simmer, then cover and cook on low until rice is cooked, stirring occasionally(if rice is not cooked and liquid is mostly absorbed, add some water). Heat oven to 375. Find a baking pan that will hold your peppers upright, and spray it with Pam. Place the peppers in, cuttting a thin slice off the bottoms if you need to stabilize them. Stuff with the beef mixture and bake, covered, for about 30 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese, and pop back in the oven until melted.