What spices could I add to this recipe to flavor it up?

INGREDIENTS


1/2 cup uncooked white rice


3/4 cup water


4 green bell peppers


1 onion, chopped


4 tablespoons olive oil


8 ounces textured vegetable protein


2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley


2 cups tomato sauce


4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese


salt to taste


ground black pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS


Combine rice and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 15 minutes.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).


Cut tops off peppers, seed insides, and arrange peppers in a large baking dish. Chop usable portion of the tops.


Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute chopped peppers and onions in oil until soft. Stir in textured vegetable protein and parsley. Reduce heat to low, and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Mix in cooked rice and 1 1/5 cups tomato sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the peppers, and top each with remaining tomato sauce.|||I love garlic so I would add some minced garlic.|||Poblano, banana or habanero peppers depending on your tolerance for heat; habaneros are the hottest, bananas are the mildest





Chili powder or cumin will give it a bit of a smoky kick.





Cilantro, rosemary, thyme, or chives will add a savory mediterranean flavor, but they're all fairly mild and won't overpower the dish as long as they're used in moderation





I agree on garlic, sautee it in the olive oil to get a lovely flavor-infusion





Grab a can of chipotle peppers and open it up; the thick sauce inside is called adobo and it's lovely in tomato sauce, while the chipotles can be minced in with your other ingredients. Or you can buy adobo by itself if you don't want the peppers.





Hope these ideas help somewhat, stuffed peppers do tend to need some help from becoming somewhat bland.|||Garlic is good. I would add some lemon pepper and a greek seasoning mix.|||Some nice italian sausage would be good. I also would ad a little garlic and some frozen peas and corn. YUM!|||garlic and/or sage|||Get you some Italian seasoning or Cajun if you like spicy.Bell peppers are very bland.Add broth instead of water for even more flavor.Real spicy?use cayenne it is a flavor on its own...Hope this helps...|||You absolutely need some garlic in there.





Also, I would find myself reaching for the basic Italian seasoning blend. Tomatoes + mozzarella + green bell peppers just screams "Italian" to me.





If you're not fond of the Italian seasoning blend, you may want to look into something like Mrs. Dash, or if you're lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe's, their 21-Seasoning Salute. Those are great ways to just add "flavor" without it being in a particular "ethnicity" of flavor.|||italian|||I agree - garlic would be great. And maybe some cumin for a southwest flavor. Or basil for more of an italian flair.