I never "stuff" the peppers as I get major heartburn if I eat them. I love them but they hate me. I just make "meatballs" instead and use a few cut up peppers in the sauce to flavor it, 2 or 3 peppers do the trick. I use tomato juice and spices for the sauce. I make a similar recipe for "stuffed" cabbage; it's time consuming and a pain to stuff all those leaves of cabbage. And both recipes taste great, can't tell any difference.