by Texas Homesteader
Stuffed Peppers are a favorite in our dinner repertoire. I love bell peppers and usually plant several bell pepper plants in my garden.
One of my favorite meals using bell peppers is making stuffed peppers.
Since I almost always have bell peppers growing in the garden I love to include them in a steamed veggie medley or dehydrate them for winter use. And of course you have to have chopped bell peppers in meatloaf and many other recipes. But it’s so simple to make stuffed peppers too.
Since I utilize the cook-once-eat-twice method of cooking, I’ll fill the oven full of many stuffed peppers. That way I can freeze some and enjoy them later as a quick heat-n-eat supper.
Stuffed Bell Pepper Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients I use to make stuffed bell peppers:
Onion, Garlic, Rice, Italian Stewed Tomatoes, Worcestershire Sauce and Italian Seasoning along with my ground meat and broth.
I like to use brown rice instead of white. And since I have a talented hunter husband I typically use ground pork instead of purchased ground meats. #UseWhatchaGot, y’all!
Cooked Rice Is Planned Leftovers
I usually make the brown rice first, oftentimes by making twice as much as I needed for a recipe the day before.
That way it’ll already be made to streamline things at supper time when making these stuffed peppers. So I often plan a rice dish the night before. That way I can capitalize the cook-once-eat-twice method of cooking.
But if I’m starting fresh I’ll saute the onions and peppers and the brown rice in a little olive oil until the onions are translucent. Then I’ll add the water or broth and bring to a boil.
After it comes to a boil I’ll stir it only once, cover the pan and simmer the rice for 20 minutes. Then without lifting the lid I’ll turn off the heat and allow the rice to absorb the rest of the liquid for another 20-25 minutes. After that time I can fluff the rice with a fork and it’s ready to go.
Stuffed Pepper Meat Filling
Now on to the meat filling. I brown the meat with chopped onion & pepper. When the meat is browned I drain the fat from the meat. If I’m using ground pork from wild hog it’s already very lean so there’s not much fat to drain.
When it’s cooked & drained I add Italian seasonings and the stewed tomatoes.
Then I mix the meat mixture with the rice until I get the ratio that I like. Typically for me it’s 2 parts meat mixture to 1 part rice. But if you want more protein and less grain, or vice versa, do what works best for you.
(The recipe calls for me to add cheese at this point and sometimes I do. But tonight I skipped the cheese in the filling and opted instead to just add a little mozzarella on top when they came out of the oven.)
Partially Cooking The Bell Peppers
Now I prepare the peppers. I like to slice them in half longways, de-seed them and microwave them for 3 minutes. This jump-starts the cooking so the peppers don’t have to spend so much time in the oven.
Then I place the partially-cooked peppers in my favorite casserole dish, a vintage Corning Ware dish that belonged to my grandmother.
Assembling Stuffed Bell Peppers
After I get the peppers into the baking dishes I fill each half with the meat/rice filling. Then I place them in the oven and bake them at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
As I mentioned, I’m making enough stuffed peppers to fill that oven up so it’s not pumping heat into the house this summer when I’m in the mood for this delicious main dish.
Since each half pepper is a serving for us, the 6 bell peppers means I’m making 12 servings here. After supper tonight I’ll freeze the others.
When they’re cooked I sprinkle a little shredded mozzarella cheese on top and allow the cheese to melt and they’re ready to go. I’ll pair them with a couple of veggie sides and dinner is served.
Leftover Shortcut
If I make the rice the day before, making this dish is simply browning the meat, adding the tomatoes, microwaving the peppers & stuffing them and putting them in the oven.
While they’re baking I’ll steam a couple of veggies and dinner comes together in a snap.
If you think you’d like to try this recipe for yourself, I’m including the recipe below. Enjoy!
Stuffed Bell Pepper - uses 6 peppers for 12 servings
Fresh bell peppers from the garden are stuffed with meat, rice and cheese to make stuffed bell peppers. I like to make lots so I can freeze the leftovers for quick heat-n-eat meals later. #TexasHomesteader
Ingredients
- 6 green bell peppers, cut in half lengthways & seeds removed
- 1 pound ground meat
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 14.5 oz cans Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup brown rice
- 3 cups water or broth
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 1.5 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
-
Chop enough reserved green pepper to equal about 1/4 cup; Set chopped pepper aside.
-
In a pan combine 1 cup brown rice with 3 cups water (or broth) - bring to boiling, stir once and cover pot. Simmer without stirring for 20 minutes, then without lifting lid turn off heat and leave covered 20 minutes. Then fluff with a fork and set aside.
-
Cook ground meat in a skillet with reserved chopped pepper, minced garlic and chopped onion over medium heat stirring until meat is browned, the juices run clear, and the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes; drain excess grease. Pour in drained diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil and turn off heat. Stir in enough cooked rice to get the rice/meat mixture you desire. Stir cheese into ground meat/rice mixture
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Place hollowed-out green peppers in a microwave-safe dish; cover and cook in microwave until bright green and steaming, about 3 minutes. Set peppers upright in a baking dish and spoon meat/rice mixture into precooked peppers.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake peppers until cheese is melted and the peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Plan a meal with rice the night before and make more than you need for that meal. That way the rice is ready & waiting for this stuffed pepper meal and supper is on the table QUICK!
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Those are my favorite too! My husband doesn’t like peppers, he only eats the stuffing. Not fair, lol. Thanks for linking up with Thursday Favorite Things!
WOW You and i cook alike…I make these too the same way. Thats because I grew up on a farm and made all same stuff! Thanks for sharing this on Fab.. Friday Party
Looks delicious! I can’t wait for my peppers to grow so I can give this a try. Thank you for sharing at Green Thumb Thursday!
I like to make these with Italian sausage. I’ve often wondered about canning them for a meal in a jar. Thanks for sharing this recipe at the HomeAcre Hop! Look forward to seeing you again tomorrow: http://wp.me/p2urYY-16c
We have jalapenos all over the place. I may twist this recipe just a bit to accommodate those! Thank you for linking at Tuesdays with a Twist! I hope you can join us again tomorrow! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
I love the cook once eat twice (or more) and this recipe is perfect for that. I could use ground turkey also.
Linda
Yum! I love stuffed peppers and have not made them in ages. I think it’s time! Thanks for sharing at The Scoop!…hugs…Debbie
I have some green peppers on the counter from my garden. I think I will make these for supper! Sounds good.
Our garden is coming on slowly this year. We don’t have bell peppers yet. ‘Gotta try this recipe when we do! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Thank you for sharing this recipe at last week’s Tuesdays with a Twist!
LOVE stuffed bell peppers! We have a friend who won’t eat green bells so I make her RED bells. Me, I’ll eat either!
Oh gosh, I haven’t made stuffed peppers in awhile! Yours look so delicious that I think these may be on the menu for dinner this weekend!
Thanks for linking up to The Creative HomeAcre blog hop! : )
These sound yummy! I love the idea of cooking once, eating twice too – very smart with stuffed peppers! Thanks for linking up with Living Well Spending Less this week!
I make this in a similar fashion, but to save myself some dishes I usually make the filling in one pot. I brown the meat with the onions, add in the rice, saute it around until the rice starts to toast.. Then I add beef broth and undrained tomatoes to it, making sure the liquid is what’s needed to cook the rice. Bring to a boil, and cover until rice is done. I also think this makes it more flavorful because the rice is cooked in broth instead of water.
Also, sometimes I don’t have enough green peppers to actually stuff them (feeding a crowd, peppers weren’t on sale, etc) so I chop those up and cook it as well, making a casserole type dish.
Just tried this recipe, love it. First time to ever make them because I thought they would be to time consuming to do. Awesome…Thanks for sharing your recipes.
I love your blog, I check each day to see whats new in your part of Texas…
Just a Stalker
Sharon
We love stuffed peppers too! And I’m exactly like you, I stick as many things in the oven while it’s going as I can. Get double duty out of it. Your page is lovely & your cows are just beautiful!
The peppers are starting to come in, in our garden just in time for this recipe!! Thanks for sharen with us
sue @the2women.com
Stuffed peppers are one of our favorites too! I never think about making a bunch and freezing them though, I’ll have to remember that! I like using red bell peppers sometimes too. 🙂