If it ain't broke don't fix it...

When I was growing up, we never had stuffed peppers.  I can't remember which one of my parents it was, but either my mom or my dad didn't like stuffed peppers.  A few years ago, a co-worker brought her homemade stuffed peppers to work for lunch and I thought, "Wow, that seems like a really healthy recipe."  I did some research and found one that wasn't only a great foundation for the recipe I'm about to share, it's also one of the few stuffed pepper recipes you will find that does not feature breadcrumbs or cheese in the recipe.  In fact, by my calculations this recipe is 288 calories per serving (1 pepper.)  Not bad, eh?  The original recipe turned out okay, but the next time I made it I made several adjustments so it would fit our tastes a little better.  I actually searched for the old recipe for awhile and never found it.  Good thing I printed it out!  (This was in the days before Pinterest.  I know. Weird, right?)

So, get yourself ready.  You're going to want to keep this recipe in mind for a rainy day (or any day...it doesn't have to be rainy. Whatever.)

{New Mom on the Blog's Stuffed Peppers}

Ingredients

1 pound of ground beef (I use the leanest ground beef I can find, but have used ground turkey before as well and it was great.)
1/2 cup of uncooked brown rice (Or you can use one of those awesome Uncle Ben's Boil-in-a-Bag things [pictured below]s and just stick it in the microwave.  Otherwise, cook your rice in a cup of water/chicken broth and set it to the side.)
4 bell peppers (My husband likes red and I like green so we always do two of each.)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
2-15 ounce cans of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt to taste
(I think you could easily make this recipe vegetarian by using more rice and no meat.  I think quinoa would also make this super interesting both with and without meat.  I haven't tried either substitution, but if you do and it is a success, let me know!  I'd love to try it!)


Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

- Cook rice in a sauce pan or use one of the delightfully easy boil-in-a-bag thingies.  You'll thank me later.

Thank you, kind sir.  You make life easier.

- In a skillet over medium heat, add onion and garlic and let warm up a bit.  Add uncooked ground beef (or turkey), mix it around, and cook until evenly browned.

 - Meanwhile, remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers.  Arrange the peppers in a square baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward.  (Sometimes this is a balancing act, so when I'm choosing peppers in the store, I always try to make sure I get some that will sit evenly in the pan.)

Gorg.

- Once the meat is browned, mix the meat, cooked rice, 1 can of the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large bowl.

Trust me.  This tastes amazing.

- Mix the remaining can of tomato sauce with the Italian seasoning in a separate bowl.  Add salt to taste.

Look familiar?  Basically the same as the sauce for my Chicken Parmigiana recipe.

- Spoon an equal amount of the rice/meat mixture into each hollowed pepper.  (You may have a little bit leftover depending on the size of your peppers.)  Pour the other bowl of sauce evenly over the tops of the peppers.

Peppers before the final "saucing."

- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Serve with some freshly baked bread.  You'll want it to mop up the yummy sauce.

Enjoy!

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