Stuffed Red Pepper Casserole

Garden Grown Satisfaction

Everybody loves a vegetable garden (well... almost everybody) and when it comes to preparing a meal there is nothing more satisfying then using your very own garden grown vegetables.

I have to admit, I wasn't to sure if my red peppers were growing correctly. I mean, I planted them, watered them, watched them grow but something didn't look right. I was thinking that red peppers were similar to green peppers when it came to shape and form...but no. My red peppers looked like they were drooping off the stem; like an upside down tear drop. Was I doing something wrong?

I was sadly disappointed to see that my tomatoes grew very, very small. A little bigger than a cherry tomato but not by much. I used about 5 (maybe 6) of these tomatoes. You could just use 2 regular or large tomatoes.

My Store-Bought Onions

I tried to grow onions. Didn't turn out too well. In fact, nothing turned out. I tried using a cut-off end to a Yellow Onion and then planted it. Nothing happened. So, I had to go to the store and buy some.

I thought that I may have heard or read something about planting a part of the onion and being able to grow even more onions. Anyway...

So very Important

I can't stress enough to inform you that following recipes to what they exactly call for is of MOST importance. Whether it calls for being thinly sliced or it's starting to be thoroughly diced because, trust me, there is a difference.

Measuring out the correct portions is just as important. The difference could be anywhere from burning it to turning it into something mysterious.

Any brand of rice will do. Keep in mind, it's recommended that you use a better quality when it comes to the rice. A name brand is preferred. However, you do what's best for you.

NOTE: Buy some plain white rice from your local Chinese takeout.

Prepping the mushrooms is quite easy actually. It's pretty much just draining the water from a can of mushrooms. Be sure to use "Stem & Pieces" if using a can. Using full mushrooms WILL NOT work. Mushrooms need to be thinly sliced.

Believe it or not, but some people can literally destroy a meal by simply not browning ground beef the way they should. Whether you under cook or overcook the ground beef a simple solution can be applied to where this will never happen again. That solution is by simply staying put and mix the ground beef while it's in the pan. Don't go anywhere.

Another recommended solution is by picking the ground beef into the pan, pinch by pinch. That way you'll know you're browning ground beef the correct way. Be sure not to have the heat to high when browning ground beef and also to mix the ground beef occasionally to avoid overcooking.

Don't get stingy when it comes to the rice. It's better to spend the extra money for a better quality of rice than run the risk of totally destroying this recipe. Cheap rice can comeback to haunt you. Unless you totally know what you're doing and you're just too stubborn and want to dedicate your time to ensuring a perfect pan of rice... go for it.

Although it's not necessary, but it is preferred that you cook the onions and mushrooms FIRST for a little while, before adding the tomatoes.

Although it's not necessary, but it is recommended that you cook the rice and tomatoes SECOND for a little while, before adding the tomato sauce.

Although it's not necessary, but it is preferred that you add the tomato sauce THIRD before mixing everything together.

You may mix everything all at once in a bowl like shown in the two photographs posted right above.

Now the fun part!

Through experience, I feel using latex gloves when stuffing the red peppers. It seems to go by faster. It much easier to clean up also. With the extra stuffing, fill in the empty spaces in the casserole dish around the neatly organized red peppers.

Evenly Space Stuffed Red Peppers

Be sure to evenly space the stuffed red peppers. Use a smaller/bigger dish to bake in if needed.

When done, sprinkle the 5TBS of Parmesan cheese over top the entire dish. Or, add as little/much as you want.