Stuffed Peppers 101 Recipes

CLASSIC STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a small saucepan, prepare rice according to package instructions. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Cook onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add ground beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 6 minutes. Drain fat.
• Return beef mixture to skillet, then stir in cooked rice and diced tomatoes. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Let simmer until liquid has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Place peppers cut side-up in a 9"-x-13" baking dish and drizzle with oil. Spoon beef mixture into each pepper and top with Monterey jack, then cover baking dish with foil.
• Bake until peppers are tender, about 35 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is bubbly, 10 minutes more.
• Garnish with parsley before serving.

THE BEST STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• If your peppers don't sit upright on your cutting board, trim about 1/8-inch off the bottoms to even them out so they can stand without falling over. Cut the top off each pepper about 1/2-inch down. Remove and discard the stems, then finely chop the remaining flesh from the tops. Scoop out the seeds and as much of the membranes as you can. Place the peppers in a large microwave-safe bowl with 1/2 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power for 12 minutes. Carefully uncover and let them sit until ready to assemble.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spread the beef in an even layer and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pan until the meat is lightly browned all over, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the browned meat to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and add the reserved chopped peppers, onions, garlic, thyme, 4 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until falling apart and much of the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until brick red colored, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until the mixture is reduced, very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Transfer to the bowl with the beef. Stir in the rice until completely combined. (The mixture will be wet.) Season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Place the peppers cut-side up in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Spoon the filling into the peppers, gently pressing it in with the back of a spoon. Be careful not to overstuff and split the sides of the peppers. Bake for 15 minutes. Then top with the cheese and continue baking until the filling is heated through and the cheese is browned in spots, 10 to 12 minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bring rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the cooked rice aside.
• Cook onion and olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Transfer half of cooked onion to a large bowl and set aside.
• Stir marinara sauce, beef broth, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes into the skillet; cook and stir for 1 minute.
• Pour sauce mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, diced tomatoes, Italian parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper into bowl with reserved onions; mix well. Stir in cooked rice and Parmigiano Reggiano. Stuff green bell peppers with beef and sausage mixture.
• Place stuffed green bell pepper halves in the baking dish over tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
• Remove aluminum foil and bake until the meat is no longer pink, the green peppers are tender and the cheese is browned on top, an addition 20 to 25 minutes.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place the rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the beef until evenly browned.
• Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. (Slice the bottoms of the peppers if necessary so that they will stand upright.)
• In a bowl, mix the browned beef, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Italian seasoning in a bowl, and pour over the stuffed peppers.
• Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, basting with sauce every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender.

STUFFED PEPPERS 101

Steps:

• 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.
• 2. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.
• 3. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.
• 4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.
• My Note: I play with the recipe some. I halved the peppers (lengthwise), sauted onions separately along with 2 minced garlic pieces, cooked the rice separately, used 1 can of DICED tomatoes* (why would you ever buy a can of tomatoes and THEN dice them?), and mixed the ingredients together after browning the beef**, allowing them to warm slightly in the skillet before stuffing into the peppers. You can use the extra juice from the can of tomatoes to keep the rice from burning. I also added quite a bit of basil, oregano, and Italian seasoning, as well as extra Worcestershire sauce. Putting just a little cheese in the bottom of each pepper helped as well. Lastly, I only used one can of tomato soup. Even cut in half, 25 min was needed to get them nice & hot. Next time, I'll try adding some pepper as well. * Using a can of diced tomatoes with jalepeno peppers adds just the right amount of kick to these! **You can also use 1/2 beef & 1/2 3-7% lean ground turkey to reduce fat content -- tastes the same!
• I'll definitely make this again. I used ground turkey instead of beef, and a can of petite diced tomatoes w/ liquid instead of whole toms. Used Arborio rice as that's what I had in the pantry. Added minced garlic to the meat mixture. I substituted 1/2°C of beef broth instead of plain water. Used 1 can of tomato soup & 1 sm. can of tomato sauce w/ a TBS or two of Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning. Excellent, healthy, and much better than the stuffed peppers. I think that par-boiling the peppers before stuffing them was key to the texture and flavor.

SIMPLE AND EASY STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the ground beef, and cook until brown and crumbly. Pour off excess grease, then stir in garlic, onion, and tomatoes. Cook and stir until the onions soften just a bit, about 3 minutes. Stir the cheese into the mixture, and set aside.
• Cut the tops off of the peppers, and remove the veins and seeds. Fill each pepper with the ground beef mixture and pour in some of the chicken broth. Place into the cups of a muffin tin, and replace the tops.
• Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes.

STUFFED PEPPERS FOR TWO

Steps:

• Cut tops off peppers and discard; remove seeds. Blanch peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside. , In a bowl, combine beef, 1/4 cup tomato sauce, rice, 2 tablespoons cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and egg; mix well. Stuff the peppers; place in an ungreased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Cover and bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and peppers are tender. , Sprinkle with remaining cheese; return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

TRADITIONAL STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds. Place peppers in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately place in ice water; invert on paper towels., In a small skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove from the heat. Stir in 1 cup tomato sauce, rice, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Spoon into peppers. , Place in an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Drizzle with remaining tomato sauce. Cover and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until peppers are tender.