Stuffed Peppers
I absolutely love stuffing peppers, squash, mushrooms, and even tomatoes. Combining ingredients for that “one perfect bite” is incredibly satisfying! The nice thing about mushrooms and cherry tomatoes is that they really are bite-sized and you can just pop them in your mouth as an appetizer. Whereas, these stuffed peppers are a full meal. You can add a nice side salad to the dish, but they already have everything you need for a balanced meal: meat, a carb, and lots of good veggies.
What’s funny about my love for stuffed peppers today is that when I was a little kid I never wanted any of my food to touch or mix. Each side had to have a little white space separating it from the next, and I would eat each side in full before moving on to the next. I’ll go ahead and say what you’re thinking “What was wrong with you!?!” haha…we all have our corks!
I’m not even a big “bell pepper” girl, but when you combine all the ingredients together it makes for a wonderful dish/ It’s easy to make ahead, and it’s perfect for a dinner party where you just want to spend time with you guests while it bakes in the oven instead of slaving over the stove. It’s also a healthy “oven bake” vs. your typical pasta bakes or mid-western casseroles. Listen, I’m from Michigan…I’m allowed to take digs on a casserole dish since I practically grew up on them.
The BEST tip I ever got for stuffing peppers was to boil the pepper shells first for 5-7 mins to soften them slightly so they bake to perfection once stuffed. If you put the raw pepper shells in the oven with all the stuffing inside it can be really hard to get them to cook all the way through, and while trying to do so, you’ll probably overcook the stuffing inside since most of the ingredients are already cooked on the stovetop. The oven is meant for “melding” in this dish, it’s not meant for any heavy lifting.
And just like all my recipes, you can play around here with different stuffing. If you want to use sausage instead of ground beef, try it! Feel like adding some sauteed spinach, go for it! Would you rather use brown rice or even quinoa as your grain instead of the long-grain white rice? That would also be delicious! Try a different soft cheese to melt on top. I would stick to a white cheese with mild flavor so it doesn’t take over all the delicious flavors of the filling, but again…that’s a decision for you and your tastebuds!
Stuffed dishes are a great way to eliminate some of those ingredients you have left in your refrigerator. Items where you don’t have enough for that ingredient to be the star of a meal, but you have just enough to incorporate it as a sidekick. If I’m not using leftover rice from another meal, I typically make mine in advance anyway so it’s not piping hot and sticky when I mix it in with all the other ingredients. This helps keep the dish from getting gummy and overworked.
People eat with their eyes, and this dish is full of color and freshness yet gives off the savory aspects of “meat and potatoes.” That garnish of parsley, in the end, is not just for aesthetics; it adds a fresh flare to the dish that you won’t want to miss.
Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground chuck
- 2.5 tbsp Dusted Seasoning
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 6 cloves chopped garlic
- 3 bell peppers (1 orange, 1 red, 1 yellow)
- 6 baby bella mushrooms chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes and the juices
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cracked red pepper flakes
- 1 cup cooked long-grain white rice
- 8oz shredded mozzarella
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Recipe Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and get a pot of water on the stove to bring it to a boil
- Cut your bell peppers in half lengthwise and clean out all the seeds and stems
- Place your pepper halves into the boiling water and let them cook for 5-7 minutes until slightly tender. Take them out, dry them off, and set them aside.
- Heat a skillet over the stove on medium-high heat. Once warmed, add ground beef, and dust generously with Dusted seasoning. Break apart well and cook until browned. Drain and set aside.
- Using the same skillet with the meat removed, add chopped onions with cracked red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, then add tomato paste and incorporate well, cooking for another minute.
- Add the cooked ground beef back into the skillet and dust one more time.
- Add a can of diced tomatoes, oregano, cooked ground beef, and cooked rice into the skillet. Dust the entire “filling” one last time, and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Once thickened take off the heat and start stuffing your peppers. Lay them flat into a pyrex/glass casserole dish.
- Top with shredded mozzarella and throw into the 400 deg oven for 20 minutes.
- Take out and sprinkle with parsley to garnish.
