Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is another simple and quick recipe for those busy weeknights.  Growing up, my mom would make this for our family.  My brother and I did not like the green peppers, so she would always bake some of the “stuffing” in a separate casserole dish for us, without the peppers.  This can easily be modified to incorporate the peppers into the meat mixture if you did not want to stuff them.  Just use one pepper and dice it, then mix it into the meat mixture before baking.  It’s also great cooked in the microwave, making it even faster to get to the table.  (See microwave directions at the end of the recipe.)

Ingredients

3 green bell peppers

¾ lb ground beef

⅓ cup quick cooking rice

⅓ cup water

8 oz tomato sauce, divided

1 egg

1 t salt

¼ t pepper

Preheat oven to 350ºF. 

Brown ground beef in pan set over medium high heat.  Drain and return to pan.  Add rice, water, half of tomato sauce (4 oz.), egg, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.

Cut peppers in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.  Place pepper halves in casserole dish.  Spoon beef mixture into peppers and pour rest of tomato sauce over top of peppers.

Bake for 30 minutes, until peppers are tender and rice is done.

Microwave directions: Prepare stuffed peppers as directed above, placing in microwave safe dish.  Cover with waxed paper.  Cook for 10-12 minutes, until peppers are tender and rice is done.