Day 66: Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Sausage Stuffed Peppers
(The stuffing could easily fill 4 peppers, I but only use 3.  I like having extra stuffing to serve on the side or for my kids.)
3 green bell peppers
1 cup rice (I use brown rice)
8 oz sausage (breakfast sausage is fine)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
salt, pepper
paprika
Southwestern seasoning
grated parmesan cheese
breadcrumbs
butter
water

Preheat the oven to 400*.  Cook the rice on the stovetop.  While the rice is cooking, saute the chopped onion and add the sausage.  Cook until browned.  While the sausage is browning, cut the tops off of the peppers and pull the core, seeds, and veins out of them.  Preserve the tops (minus the core/stem) and chop it up finely.  Add the chopped pepper and the garlic to the sausage/onion mixture.  Season with some salt, pepper, paprika, and Southwestern seasoning to taste.  Add the rice and stir.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper into the whole peppers.  Fill them with the stuffing.  Place the peppers in a pan and pour in about 1/2 cup of water so the peppers are sitting in it.  Sprinkle the tops of the peppers with a parmesan cheese/breadcrumb mixture and then place a pat of butter on the tops of all of them.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.