PŪRe Delicious: Stuffed Peppers

My mother made the best stuffed peppers and I’ve learned to make them from her. The difference is I often mix up what is in the “stuffing”. I use ground chicken, turkey, beef of course, but I also use tofu or veggie ground round which you can get in different flavours like Mexican. Sooo good!

As I really don’t have a “recipe” per se, I’ll give you my best bet on measurements. That being said, if you have more “stuffing” than you need, you can choose to either make more peppers and freeze them or freeze the stuffing itself. I will do a recipe for 6 peppers so I can freeze some of them. My family loves them.

Ingredients:

6 Peppers of any colour

Regular size container of (probably a lb) ground beef/chicken/turkey (If you’re using the ground veggie you get a LOT from a package!).  Or do more and freeze it so you’re one step ahead next time you make them!

Tomato Sauce (I do a recipe an Italian friend taught me when you run out of the real stuff that’s canned)

Shredded cheese, whatever you like. We use mozzarella or parmesan. To shred or sprinkle on top near the end so it melts nicely.

Rice. Follow the directions. With rice I make a big pot of it at once, use what I need and either save some for another meal in the next day or two OR freeze it. 

Directions:

Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the 6 bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. (Slice the bottoms of the peppers if necessary, so that they will stand upright.)

OR some people:

Blanche the peppers in boiling water if you are eating them right away. Blanching them allows them to be a little softer to eat. 

To blanche the peppers bring a large pot of water to boil, drop them in for as long as you like the texture and pick them out with tongs, drain and place them aside to dry. I would do this in advance, so they have lots of time to dry and you get that out of the way. You should also not put too many peppers in the water as they will split. I really only blanche for about 5 minutes but a lot of people prefer 10 or even more. Check the consistency of the pepper. 

Rice. Follow the directions. I would say you want about ½ cup uncooked long grain or basmati rice.

Have the tomato sauce done in advance, it should be a 1 or 2 cups. Again, if you have too much use it for something else or freeze it. 

Fry up your choice of beef and add the rice and a maybe half tomato sauce in the mix. Reserve the other half of the tomato sauce. Let it cool. You can choose whichever spices you like. I’m pretty boring and tend to stick to good old salt and pepper. Sometimes I add Worcestershire. Or you can add some Italian seasonings as well. 

Mix everything together well and make sure you let it cool. 

Stuff the peppers equally with the mix. When that’s completed you can add the remaining tomato sauce drizzled from on the top and shredded cheese about halfway through to make sure it’s melted.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook for about an hour. The tomato sauce will pool on the bottom of the pan so periodically baste them. Enjoy!