Back when we had a short-lived fling with a gluten free lifestyle, we really pushed ourselves to try different meals from what we normally love (pasta, pizza, carbs carbs carbs ya know). Needless to say, the no-gluten thing didn’t last for long, and we’re back to our old ways. We did however, try some really great recipes during that time including this one that I’ve been meaning to share.
I’ve never been a big fan of bell peppers – I don’t know why, maybe it’s the texture? I love spicy peppers and could eat giardiniera straight from the jar… Either way, I’ve been working them into more and more meals, because Casey really likes them and they’re great nutrition-wise. We also had a pretty healthy pepper plant in our garden and it was great to use food that we grew ourselves.
What You Need
- 4 large bell peppers
- 1 cup rice (white or brown works)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- S&P to taste
- Shredded Cheddar cheese
Step 1: Cut the tops off of the peppers, scoop out the seeds and membranes and rinse the peppers. Heat up a pot full of water to boiling and add the peppers for about 2-3 minutes so they soften a bit.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step 2: Meanwhile, prepare 1 cup of rice per the instructions, brown the ground beef and drain off the rendered fat – set aside to cool.
Combine rice, ground beef, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning and any chopped bits of green pepper from the top that you cut off. You could also chop up a smaller bell pepper and throw that in if you want your mixture extra peppery. Cook about 20 minutes on the stovetop until everything is soft and cooked through.
Now, get to stuffing! Add your mixture to each pepper in a small baking dish and cook for approximately 30 minutes (add the cheese with 5 minutes remaining to get it bubbling and gooey.
One tip would be to stab the outside of the pepper with a fork to make sure it’s tender enough before you pull them out of the oven.
There you have it! I hope you have an awesome weekend – we’re heading downtown to watch the homecoming parade and enjoy our little town. I’m so relieved the weather has figured it’s shit out and we have something that actually resembles fall!
Until next week,
M
Staying Martha 