EASY STUFFED PEPPERS: BASIC BEGINNER RECIPES

Do you like stuffed bell peppers?  I really do, but I rarely have them. I can't explain why. Chuck says I love them bell peppers in general way too much, and I do that's a fact! They are just plain good no matter how you eat or prepare them. They do flavor most foods as well, don't they?

This very inexpensive and easy recipe is for 3 large green bell peppers.  It can, of course, be doubled or tripled if you need more. If you are looking for a full meal actually in one little course this will do! We did have a side salad, but it wasn't needed. We just love them lots!

Easy Basic Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

1/2 LB lean ground beef (I used 90% lean Angus)
3 large green bell peppers*
1/4 cup uncooked white rice that you cook with 1/2 cup water and a pinch of salt
1/2 cup whole corn-drained (optional)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated (optional)
1 cup tomato sauce separated into half cups**
1/2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1/8 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning ***
Salt & Pepper

Substitutions

* You can use red, yellow, orange, or green bell peppers. I find that most times the green peppers are firmer and hold up much better for this.

** You can use your homemade tomato sauce which is what I used for even better flavor.  I make when in season and can for use throughout the year.

***For Italian Seasoning you can use what you have on hand pinches of Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Rosemary, Sage, Marjoram.  Any of the dried or fresh.

I've included two YouTube Videos Below:

One on How to Cut Peppers for Stuffing. Be very careful when using sharp knives of course. I advise you to use the first method because it is safer and works well!

The other on How to Brown Ground Beef. This gives you some important information about ground beef as well.

Directions

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F Convection Ovens 325 degrees F

• Cook the rice and remove from heat until needed
• Brown in a frying pan on medium-low heat the ground beef, separating with your heatproof spatula until browned.
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper while browning for flavor
• Drain if necessary, if you have very lean beef  you won't have to drain
• Prepare a baking pan/sheet. I line mine with aluminum foil for easier cleaning.
• Wash, dry, prepare the peppers. Cut the tops off leaving as much pepper as you can. Gently remove the seeds and pulp discarding them.  Check to see if they will stand without tipping over in your baking sheet. If they won't stand upright you may need to trim a little from the bottom to make them stand up straight. (don't trim until you have a hole in the bottom that would defeat the purpose of stuffing.)
• Mix the ground beef, add the onion and garlic powder, pinch salt & black pepper, Worchestershire Sauce, cooked rice, drained corn, 1/2 cup tomato sauce.
• Mix the remaining tomato sauce with the Italian Seasoning.
• Fill the peppers with the ground beef mixture
• Top each with the seasoned tomato sauce
• Put in oven bake 60 minutes or until peppers are tender. You can check for tenderness with a fork after 40-50 minutes. The peppers may wrinkle such as mine when completely tender.
• Optional:  Top each with grated cheese and return to oven to melt. That will only take 4 or 5 minutes.

Remove from oven let sit 5 minutes and serve with a crisp side salad if you wish. There you have it a quick, simple, filling meal.

Serves 3

I'll leave you with these thoughts:
This is an inexpensive way to have a meal. If you decide not to add the corn and cheese it is a little healthier as well.  The choice is always up to you.  So many substitutions are out there for your eating habits.  You can add ground turkey or no meat at all substitute vegetables for the meat. Enjoy your cooking!