Rice Stuffed Mini Peppers Recipes

RICE-STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook beef, onion, chopped green pepper, garlic, salt and pepper over medium heat until beef is no longer pink; drain. Add the water, tomatoes, tomato sauce and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. , Stir in rice; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. , Remove tops and seeds from the peppers; cut in half widthwise. Place in a large pan of boiling water; boil for 4 minutes. , Drain peppers and stuff with meat mixture. Place remaining meat mixture in an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish; top with stuffed peppers, pressing down gently. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour. In a saucepan, heat sauce ingredients until cheese is melted. Serve over peppers.

MINI STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the bell peppers in half top to bottom and remove the seeds and ribs. Set aside. Cook the rice in a medium saucepan following the package directions.
• In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic over medium-high heat, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain any excess fat from the meat and remove the skillet from the heat. Combine the ground beef mixture, rice, tomatoes, black pepper and salt in a large bowl and mix until blended.
• In a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish, place the bell peppers cut-side up. Evenly divide the beef mixture among the pepper halves. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the Cheddar on top. Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, and bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

RICE STUFFED MINI SWEET PEPPERS(TURKEY)

Steps:

• First, prepare the filling. Put the onion in a medium frying pan, and without adding the oil, "sweat" it over medium heat, stirring often, just until slightly softened. Add the oil and when it is heated up, add the tomato paste and pepper paste. Stir to mix. Toss in the rice and sugar, and cook over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan, for 10-15 minutes. To check for doneness of the filling - take a bite on a rice grain: if it is soft on the outside and only slightly grainy inside, the filling is ready. Take care not to overcook. The rice will cook further inside the peppers. Remove the filling from the heat. Add the mint. Season with salt. Stir to mix and allow to cool.
• Meanwhile, wash the peppers and pat dry. Cut a circle around the pepper stalk, leaving the circle attached. It will serve as a lid later. With your fingers, push the core of the peppers to the sides (because their core is tiny and the seeds are minimal, there is no need to remove them). Rub the inside of the shells with some salt.
• Fill the peppers with the rice filling half full (do not overfill - the rice will expand while cooking). Put the pepper "lids" on. If you like, you could place a small grape tomato under each lid. Arrange the peppers in a saute pan (large enough to fit all the peppers) in a slightly overlapping manner. Pour in the water.
• Cover and cook over medium heat, until liquid is reduced to oil and the rice is fully cooked, about 1 hour. Note that the cooked peppers should not be mushy and should hold their shape nicely. Remove from the heat. If you wish, drizzle some olive oil on top of the peppers. Cover and allow to cool completely (yes, covered). Serve cold. This dolma stores well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.