Mushroom and Wild Rice Stuffed Red Peppers

They have a crunch-like texture from the peppers, a mellow creamy taste and texture from the filling , and a nice tang from the fresh tomatoes. We had these for lunch, but they certainly could be made for dinner also. My amounts of the ingredients are estimates. I did plenty of tasting as i was making the filling and marinara. A great shortcut would be jarred marinara or sauce, but this was worth the trouble!
 Also, some cover them with foil while baking but i did not this time. The result was a drier, crunchier pepper.

  4 large red peppers, or green if you prefer, washed, tops sliced off and seeds removed
olive oil, for brushing
3 cups cooked long grain and wild rice
8 oz  finely chopped portabella mushrooms
3 Tablespoons minced onion
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3 Tablespoons each parmesan and romano cheese ( you can use one or the other)
Salt and pepper to taste
After rinsing and de-seeding peppers, coat with a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkle inside and out with a bit of salt.  Cut a thin slice off from the bottoms of each pepper so it will sit balanced in pan.
Saute onions in butter till tender. Add mushrooms  just long enough so that they can absorb some of the creamy goodness, they will continue to cook while in the oven.
Mix rice, mushrooms, onion, mozzarella, parmesan, and romano in a medium bowl. Add seasonings to taste.  Pack each pepper well with mixture.  Set in an ovenproof pan. Add marinara ( below) and bake in 350 oven for about 50-60 min.

Marinara
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
 3 garlic cloves, minced
4 large tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons  basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 Tablespoons white wine, optional
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients in bowl and let sit while working on peppers. Add around peppers in pan before baking.
Thanks for reading!