Stuffed Green Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 10 medium-sized green bell peppers
- 2 lbs. lean ground beef I like 90/10
- ½ large onion chopped
- 2 15-oz. cans tomato sauce or pasta sauce (or one of each)
- 1 cup cooked corn kernels canned, frozen, or fresh
- 2 ribs celery, with many leaves, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons beef bouillon powder or paste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups cooked rice left over from another meal is perfect
- 1 14.5-oz. can petite diced tomatoes with chiles (Ro-tel brand or similar)
- 2 cups shredded cheese such as cheddar, Monterey jack, or pepper jack
Instructions
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Prepare and blanch the peppers: Cut the tops off of the peppers and rinse out the seeds and veins, handling the peppers gently. Make sure each pepper is able to stand up straight; if any do not, cut a thin slice off the bottom of the pepper— being careful not to create a hole—so that it will be stable.
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Boil a large pot of water. Use tongs to submerse the peppers, 2 or 3 at a time, allowing them to stay under the water for about 2 minutes. Remove the blanched peppers promptly (while they are still their original color and before the flesh becomes soft), drain out all hot water, and immediately plunge the peppers into a large bowl full of cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
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Prepare the filling: Sautee the ground beef with the onion in a skillet over medium heat, breaking up clumps as much as possible as you go, until the meat is all brown and the onions have softened. Drain any excess fat.
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Add one can of the tomato or pasta sauce, corn kernels, chopped celery, bouillon powder or paste, oregano, and cumin. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes so that flavors will meld.
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Take the filling mixture off the heat and stir in the cooked rice.
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Stuff and bake your peppers: Spoon filling into each pepper, packing it down gently, until it is full. (If you end up with any extra filling, save it for another use.) Place the stuffed peppers into a large baking dish. Mix the second can of tomato/pasta sauce with a ¼ cup of water; place a spoonful of this mixture on the top of each pepper. Pour the remaining sauce in the baking dish around the peppers.
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Cover with aluminum foil and bake your stuffed peppers at 375 F for about 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes, until the sauce around the peppers is bubbly.
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Take the dish out of the oven and sprinkle each pepper with cheese. Bake another 10 minutes or so, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
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Serve your delicious stuffed green peppers hot. Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.
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To reheat a refrigerated or (thawed) frozen pepper, cut it in half longwise and place both halves, filling side up, on a microwaveable plate. Microwave until hot.
Recipe Notes
You don’t really need to prepare any sides to go with this dish, but if you find you must have something else with it, I’ve found that some (not too dry) refried beans work really well. Their smooth texture is a nice contrast from the meat and rice filling, and the flavors are complementary.
Variations:
- These stuffed peppers can definitely be made with other colors of bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), or completely different varieties of large-ish mild peppers, such as Anaheims or cubanelles. Feel free to experiment with what you have on hand or with your favorite variety of pepper.
- Change out the ground beef for any other kind of lean ground meat: pork, chicken, turkey, etc.
- For a “greener” flavor note, add some roughly chopped fresh parsley (or other herb) to the mix at the same time you stir the rice into the meat.