Changing it up - Stuffed Bell Peppers for supper

I am 31 years old and I have never had a stuffed bell pepper until recently. I can tell you, I have been missing out and if you haven’t had one yet, you too have been missing out.

Now, it isn’t that I have never heard of Stuffed Bell Peppers before; and it isn’t that I don’t like Bell Peppers. In fact, I love bell peppers. Not only are they delicious, but they are good for you too!

So, after years and years of never trying this amazing feast, I found a recipe online and decided to give it a go. The results were amazing and everybody was left raving. So if you are looking for a dinner to impress, give this one a shot. Not only will you be filling up with some awesome nutrients, but you will leave the table thoroughly satisfied!

Ingredients:

• Bell Peppers (color of choice)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion chopped
• Pepper
• ½ tsp. Salt
• Can of diced tomatoes (I used the ones with jalapeños for a kick!)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup rice (I used instant rice)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Usually when I want to be an organized cook, I take out all my ingredients and assemble them on the counter. This way they are in easy reach. For this recipe, I have to say this is a must. The prep doesn’t take long and you don’t want to be running all over the place looking for that certain spice that you suddenly can’t find. As a rule of thumb, this is generally a good practice for anything you cook, because then you are immediately aware of whether you have all the necessary ingredients or if you need to make substitutions.

To start the prep, prepare your bell peppers by cutting off the tops and clean the seeds and the membrane out from the inside. You want to make them look like a cup to hold the stuffing. Then you could lightly precook the peppers in boiling salt water. For crisper peppers, omit this step. I did not precook the peppers but I like mine to be crispy. Sprinkle the inside of the peppers with salt and the peppers are ready. Then chop the onion.

Now that the prep work is mostly done, get a deep frying pan out to brown the ground beef and onion. Once the meat has been browned, add the salt, pepper, tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce. As for the rice, add the amount you would like, just make sure to add equal parts of rice and water. I used 1 cup of each to make more filling.

Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. The rice should be tender, however if it is not, feel free to simmer for a while longer.

After the meat has finished simmering, add the cheese. Since I am from Wisconsin (and us Wisconsinites sure love our cheese), I used a little more than 1 cup of cheese. Stir until the cheese is completely melted.

Now the fun part. Stuff the bell peppers with the meat mixture. Put the tops back on and place in a greased baking dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Bell peppers belong to the capsicum family, and while the U.S. term sweet pepper covers of wide variety, these are the best known because of their shape. There are a variety of different bell peppers; some have a mild, sweet flavor. Red and green bell peppers that have ripened longer are particularly delicious because they are very sweet. Yet, these aren’t the only reason to include peppers into your diet.

With only a ½ cup, you can get a good serving of helpful nutrients (based off a 2000 calorie diet!)

Figuring out what to plan for dinner can be a hassle, especially when you are sick of the same old meals. Once in awhile it is good to change things up, and if you can add a healthy boost to the whole process why not.

Stuffed Bell Peppers are an easy meal to prepare, packed with healthy nutrients, and were surprisingly filling. My family enjoyed these and I will say, it is definately on the "Make in the Future Again" List.

I will note however, that the peppers in themselves are very filling. To make this a complete meal, I also added some mashed potatoes and more veggies, however, after supper was over, I probably won't add any sides next time. The peppers were enough. As a heads up, I didn't feed this to my child, as they are not fans of bell peppers, and because bell peppers can be pricey, I didn't want to be wasteful. However, they did enjoy the stuffing.

So, now that you know the ins and outs of Stuffed Bell Peppers, what are you waiting for? Add this to your menu plan and you won't be disappointed!