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 | | Stuffed bell peppers is a really nice and contained dish to serve, it's perfect either for an everyday meal or for a party with a buffet. In this recipe we stuff the peppers with the classic combination ground beef and rice. We used green bell peppers because they were on sale, however red or yellow peppers would be an even better and sweeter alternative.
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- salt
- 4 bell peppers (green, yellow, orange or red)
- ½ cup long grain white rice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped finely
- ¾ pound ground beef (preferably 85 percent lean)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz can). Drained with ¼ cup juice reserved
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 5 oz shredded cheese (Monterey Jack or cheddar)
- ¼ ketchup
- pepper
Method:
Cut off ½ inch of the top of each pepper, stem and seed each. Heat up 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot and let come to a boil. Put the bell peppers in the pot and let cook for about 3 minutes. Remove the peppers and drain any water from them, place on a paper lined plate.
Bring the water back up to a boil and add the rice. Cook for about 13 minutes, or until tender. Drain thoroughly.
Heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat. Cook the onion until softened for about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes until it's no longer pink. Add the garlic, cook for about another minute. Transfer the beef to a bowl and mix with the rice. Add the tomatoes, 1 cup of cheese and parsley. Mix and salt and pepper to taste. In a separate bowl, combine ketchup and reserved tomato juice.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the peppers in a 9 by 9 inch baking dish with the cut side up. Divide the filling among the peppers and add the ketchup mixture on top of the peppers. Then sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the filling is heated throughout and the cheese is browned. If you have any left over filling, then place it in an oven safe dish and bake alongside the peppers.
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