Stuffed Peppers

Traditional cooked peppers and tomato sauce combined with cooked ground beef, rice and cheese to make a quick dinner recipe. Stuffed Peppers with Rice

Many nations prepare dishes from bell peppers; consequently, each country has the recipe of Stuffed Peppers with Rice and it is the dish that consists of stuffed bell peppers with various types of meat, sauces, vegetables, rice or cheese. In the US the dish may be undeniably retro –it is even Betty Crocker’s Internet recipe number one. Here, I’ve tweaked this classic recipe a bit by sort of ‘blind-searing’ the beef and adding Southwestern spices on it which goes very well with the sweetness of bell peppers.

You can easily adapt this recipe by swapping the meat, spices, grain, or even cheese to give your dish a fresh twist. Cornbread pairs well with this version.

Boil the peppers for half the time it would take if they were stuffed.

A lot of recipes out there say that the peppers need boiled, but roasting is so much better, and less of a mess to clean up too! The best way is the one, which involves cutting the peppers in halves, starting from the stem end, through the bottom part of the pepper to remove all seeds and peel membranes and then to roast the pepper halves until they are tender crisp.

When choosing bell peppers, one has to ensure one chooses fresh peppers in a bright vibrant color that is shiny and, hard. There should be no wrinkles on its skin, it should not have any soft area like head and any sign of mouldy stem.

Ingredients

1 pound 90% lean ground beef

1¼ teaspoons salt, divided

Heaping ¼ teaspoon baking soda

3 large red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cut in half from the stem to the bottom and cored

3 tablespoons extra-virgin oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1½ teaspoons chili powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

1 cup cooked rice, quinoa, or any grain

1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar Jack cheese

Step-by-Step Instructions

Tenderize the beef: In a bowl for processing, combine the beef, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the baking soda.

With your hands incorporate the two till consistent and let rest for 20 mins while working on the other part for the recipe. While it stays there, the baking soda lowers the meats’ pH level which tends to retain moisture and tenderizes the beef. This tenderizing technique is kind of used in most of my ground beef recipes such as; beef enchiladas, beef chili, and the shepherd’s pie. Stuffed Peppers with Rice

Cut off the stem ends and then cut each pepper in half vertically down from the top.

Arrange the peppers with the cut side on the baking dish and pour the 1 tablespoon of the oil before sprinkling the remaining salt on the peppers. Char the peppers for about 20 minutes for them to turn a caramel color and slightly tender. Some of it will leach to the bottom of the peppers and that is okay.

At the same time, using the same line of sight, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil using medium heat in a large non-stick skillet. via Stir in the onion and saute for 3 to 4 minutes or until the onion is soft and slightly translucent.

Sauté the garlic for one minute more, do not brown.

To the skillet add the ground beef mixture, chili powder cumin and oregano and then raise the heat to medium high.

Mix up

The meat using a wooden spoon and cook the meat for 4 to 5 minutes until done. Next, add the tomato sauce and gently boil it to incorporate the flavors.

Lower the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes until the meat finishes cooking. Then add the cooked rice and 3/4 cup of cheese.

Stir until smooth and melted and then turn off the heat on the skillet.