Easy Stuffed Peppers

 

    Today I made Stuffed Peppers for dinner.  Neither David nor I could remember the last time we had them.  Nicky and I had a busy day ahead of us, so I was able to prep everything before we left, put the peppers in the fridge, and baked them when we got home.  

    One thing when making these, you'll want to find peppers all about the same size that are fairly straight along the bottom and easily fillable.  If necessary, trim the bottoms of the peppers to make them stand straight in the pan when baking them in the oven.  You'll also want to cook the rice in advance, leftover rice works perfectly!  Brown the meat with some diced onions combine with the cooked rice and some tomato sauce and your mixture is done!  

This filling will make 8 -10 large peppers.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 2 cups rice, cooked
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• salt and pepper
• 1 jar of tomato sauce, I used Tomato and Basil
• 8 -10 large green and/or red peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed
• 8 -10 slices of provolone cheese
• 1 c. shredded cheese
• 1/2 c. grated parmesan

Directions:

1. Cook rice and allow it to cool.
2. Prep the peppers, trimming them to keep them even and about the same size.
3. Add the oil to a large skillet on medium high heat.  Add onions and garlic, cook for three minutes.  Add ground beef.  Break up the meat as its browning and add the spices, salt and pepper.  If using a high fat content of beef, you will need to drain it before adding the the jarred tomato sauce.
4. Once the meat has been drained, add 3/4 of the jar of tomato sauce.  Mix to combine.  Add the rice to the skillet.  Combine.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (unless you are planning on prepping the peppers in advance and baking them later).  Add the remaining sauce to a large baking dish.  Spread around the bottom of the dish.  Line the green/red peppers up around the dish.  
6. Tuck a slice of provolone into the bottom of each pepper.  Fill each pepper evenly to the top with the meat and rice mixture.  Combine the shredded cheese with the parmesan.  Top each pepper with shredded cheese mixture.  
7. At this point you can cover with foil and refrigerate or place in the oven.  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the peppers reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees and the cheese is melted.  If you are planning on refrigerating and baking later, take the peppers out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking.
8. Serve with a salad and garlic bread or your choice of vegetable.  If you prefer more sauce, feel free to add an extra jar.  Enjoy!

Peppers are ready for the oven!