Stuffed Peppers 101

Green, red or yellow, orange, any bell peppers O.K purple too will work, stuffed with ground beef, rice, and sharp Cheddar cheese are a hearty meal perfect for a weeknight dinners. I like using red, orange peppers! They add a sweetness that is delicious.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6  bell peppers
•  salt
• 1  lb ground beef
• 1⁄3 cup  chopped onion
•  salt and pepper
• 1 (14 1/2ounce) can whole canned tomatoes (chopped)
• 1  teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1⁄2 cup  uncooked rice
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 1  cup  shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 (10 3/4ounce) cans  condensed tomato soup
•  water, as needed

Directions

1. 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.
2. 2. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.
3. 3. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.
4. 4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.
5. My Note: I play with the recipe some. I halved the peppers (lengthwise), sauted onions separately along with 2 minced garlic pieces, cooked the rice separately, used 1 can of DICED tomatoes* (why would you ever buy a can of tomatoes and THEN dice them?), and mixed the ingredients together after browning the beef**, allowing them to warm slightly in the skillet before stuffing into the peppers. You can use the extra juice from the can of tomatoes to keep the rice from burning. I also added quite a bit of basil, oregano, and Italian seasoning, as well as extra Worcestershire sauce. Putting just a little cheese in the bottom of each pepper helped as well. Lastly, I only used one can of tomato soup. Even cut in half, 25 min was needed to get them nice & hot. Next time, I'll try adding some pepper as well. * Using a can of diced tomatoes with jalepeno peppers adds just the right amount of kick to these! **You can also use 1/2 beef & 1/2 3-7% lean ground turkey to reduce fat content -- tastes the same!
6. I'll definitely make this again. I used ground turkey instead of beef, and a can of petite diced tomatoes w/ liquid instead of whole toms. Used Arborio rice as that's what I had in the pantry. Added minced garlic to the meat mixture. I substituted 1/2°C of beef broth instead of plain water. Used 1 can of tomato soup & 1 sm. can of tomato sauce w/ a TBS or two of Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning. Excellent, healthy, and much better than the stuffed peppers. I think that par-boiling the peppers before stuffing them was key to the texture and flavor.