My super couponing daughter Leah (metroplexsavers.blogspot.com) told me today that she found a great buy on bell pepper and wanted to make stuffed bell pepper. It's been a while since I last made them, but the recipe was on our regular rotation at one time. So, for Leah, here's the recipe.
SUPER-EASY STUFFED BELL PEPPER
4 medium/large bell peppers
- (best if they have a flat bottom and can stand upright)
1 lb ground beef -- higher fat content is better
Instant rice
1 egg
2 small cans tomato sauce or ketchup
1/4 to 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
Worchestershire sauce
Parsley, fresh chopped or flakes
Pepper
Salt
(Optional)
Minced garlic
Mild white cheese like Mozarella or Monterrey Jack, grated
PREPARATION: Using a paring knife, cut the cap out of the bell peppers, kind of like you would cut the cap on a jack-o-lantern. Lift out the cap and seed pod. Clean out all the seeds from inside the pepper and rinse the peppers. Break off any usable pepper meat from around the stem and seed pod and finely chop the pepper scraps. Throw away the seeds and stems.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef with an equal amount of rice (by volume, not weight). If you want to get fancy, you can pre-cook some regular white rice and substitute it for the instant, but if you do, slightly undercook the rice. The idea here is for the rice to absorb the liquids, and therefore the flavors, from the meat. Add the egg and one can of tomato sauce (if you want a slightly sweeter, more tangy flavor, use ketchup instead). Add the chopped pepper and onion. Put in a few dashes of Worchestershire sauce and add parsley, salt, pepper and garlic to taste.
Now, roll up your sleeves, wash your hands, and hand mix your mixture until it is well integrated. Once you're satisfied with the blend, stuff the mixture into the peppers until there's a little heaping out the top. Spray a little non-stick spray on a deep casserole dish and stand your peppers in the dish. Take your other can of tomato sauce (or ketchup) and pour over the top of the peppers. You can "go both ways" by using tomato sauce in the mixture and ketchup on top, which is a nice complexity of flavors.
Bake at 350-375 degrees covered until almost done (20-25 minutes?). Then, uncover and sprinkle some of the shredded cheese on top. Finish baking until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. The baking time, appearance, etc. will be similar to cooking a meatloaf. Just make sure the stuffing is cooked all the way through.
Let me know how the recipe works out for you. Enjoy the food!
SUPER-EASY STUFFED BELL PEPPER
4 medium/large bell peppers
- (best if they have a flat bottom and can stand upright)
1 lb ground beef -- higher fat content is better
Instant rice
1 egg
2 small cans tomato sauce or ketchup
1/4 to 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
Worchestershire sauce
Parsley, fresh chopped or flakes
Pepper
Salt
(Optional)
Minced garlic
Mild white cheese like Mozarella or Monterrey Jack, grated
PREPARATION: Using a paring knife, cut the cap out of the bell peppers, kind of like you would cut the cap on a jack-o-lantern. Lift out the cap and seed pod. Clean out all the seeds from inside the pepper and rinse the peppers. Break off any usable pepper meat from around the stem and seed pod and finely chop the pepper scraps. Throw away the seeds and stems.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef with an equal amount of rice (by volume, not weight). If you want to get fancy, you can pre-cook some regular white rice and substitute it for the instant, but if you do, slightly undercook the rice. The idea here is for the rice to absorb the liquids, and therefore the flavors, from the meat. Add the egg and one can of tomato sauce (if you want a slightly sweeter, more tangy flavor, use ketchup instead). Add the chopped pepper and onion. Put in a few dashes of Worchestershire sauce and add parsley, salt, pepper and garlic to taste.
Now, roll up your sleeves, wash your hands, and hand mix your mixture until it is well integrated. Once you're satisfied with the blend, stuff the mixture into the peppers until there's a little heaping out the top. Spray a little non-stick spray on a deep casserole dish and stand your peppers in the dish. Take your other can of tomato sauce (or ketchup) and pour over the top of the peppers. You can "go both ways" by using tomato sauce in the mixture and ketchup on top, which is a nice complexity of flavors.
Bake at 350-375 degrees covered until almost done (20-25 minutes?). Then, uncover and sprinkle some of the shredded cheese on top. Finish baking until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. The baking time, appearance, etc. will be similar to cooking a meatloaf. Just make sure the stuffing is cooked all the way through.
Let me know how the recipe works out for you. Enjoy the food!
You need to take pictures of your creations as you go along. That would help me AND your readers :)
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