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Inside-out stuffed peppers

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I have to credit this post to my friend Maribeth. She is also an excellent cook, and is allowing me to post this recipe here. We both needed some serious girl-talk time, so cooking dinner together and enjoying some wine was of course the natural choice. This is her recipe.
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Ingredients:
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 box rice pilaf
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tbsp pesto
  • 1 tbsp diced garlic
  • 1 cup Spaghetti sauce
  • black pepper
Step 1: Dice the onion into small pieces and the bell pepper into strips.
Step 2: Cook the ground beef fully, then add the onion, pepper and garlic. Cover tightly and steam for about 10 minutes, until pepper is fully cooked. (You can of course omit the ground beef or use tofu instead for vegetarians.)
Step 3: Meanwhile, cook the rice pilaf according to instructions. Once peppers are soft, add the rice and pesto and mix well.
Step 4: Season to taste with black pepper and any other seasonings you like.

Step 5: Scoop a big pile onto a plate, and cover with the sauce.
Step 6: Try to stop yourself from having seconds!

Inside out stuffed peppers. Delicious!

 

Main Dishes

Stuffed peppers

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Stuffed peppers have become known as my signature dish among certain people. I made them once, my friend fell in love and shared them with his family, who also loved them. Through trial and error, I have perfected the recipe and learned that shortcuts are usually not worth sacrificing taste!
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The typical stuffed pepper is made with a green bell pepper and stuffed with a combination of meat, rice, and spices. I like using the red ones so much better because they are sweeter. As always, there is plenty of room for experimentation, and they can easily be made vegetarian. I made some yellow ones stuffed with a combination of quinoa, carrots, brown sugar, celery and raisins that were quite delicious.
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However, this is “the” recipe for my famous peppers. Perhaps I shouldn’t share, but they are so good I feel everyone should have a chance to make and try them!
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The most recent batch I made was a dozen for myself and my friend’s family. If you are only making 2 or 4, the recipe can easily be pared down, just cut amounts by 1/4 or whatever you need.
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Ingredients:

12 red bell peppers (ok, 2 were yellow)
~1.5 pounds ground beef
~2 cups rice
2 cups chicken broth or 2 bouillon cubes
1 packet onion soup mix
1 large can (24 oz?) tomato sauce or 3-4 smaller ones
Nature’s Seasons

Step 1: Boil the rice in the chicken broth. This gives the rice extra flavor and saltiness.
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Step 2: Brown the ground beef. Put it in a pan and cook over medium heat until there is no more pink. Drain the excess grease.
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Step 3: In a large bowl, mix the cooked meat, the cooked rice, the seasonings and the sauce. (Honestly, I could just eat this mixture itself with a spoon!)
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Step 4: Cut the tops off the peppers and pull out the white rinds and seeds.
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Step 5: Stuff the mixture into the peppers.
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Step 6: Bake at 350 for at least 1 hour. Be sure to add some water to the pan so they don’t dry out or burn. You can rinse the tomato sauce can and use that for extra flavor. Depending on how tender you want your peppers to be, you can leave them in a little longer or shorter. You can also add some shredded cheese on top during the last 5-10 minutes of baking.
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You will know they are ready when the skin is soft to the touch and wrinkled, and the tops are nicely browned. You can also cook these on high in a crock pot for 1-2 hours, they will just not develop the crispy brown top. Enjoy!
They also reheat great for lunch or dinner the next day!