Wok's For Dinner: Stuffed Bell Peppers

A classic traditional meal, Stuffed Bell Peppers reminds me of my mother's cooking. I never got her recipe before she passed away, but I did get the recipe from my aunt, which is the closest I could get to my mom's version. This definitely is a recipe that you will need to devote some time to. You could prepare some of it ahead of time--brown the meat & cook up the rice, then store in the refrigerator, for instance.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:
6 large green bell peppers
1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey; you could substitute the morningstar farms meatless crumble stuff)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 cups cooked rice
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Cut thin slice from stem end of each pepper, remove the seeds & membranes. Immerse peppers in a large pot of boiling water; boil for 5 minutes; drain. Meanwhile, brown ground beef (or ground turkey or meatless crumble) with onion, salt, garlic powder & ground pepper in a skillet; drain any excess grease. Stir in rice and tomato sauce. Stuff the bell peppers with the meat mixture. Put the stuffed bell peppers into a deep baking dish. Cover with tomatoes. Cover baking dish with foil or a lid if your baking dish has one. Bake in oven about 45 minutes.

Hubs had a meeting tonight, so I don't quite know yet what his verdict on this meal was. He told me that he planned on getting Taco Bell for dinner, until he saw me making the stuffed peppers before he left. He did make a comment about how good everything was smelling, so we'll see if he brings home the fast food or if he'll hold out for one of his favorite meals that I rarely make. :) I didn't give the kids any of the bell pepper, knowing they wouldn't eat such them, so they had just the rice, ground turkey & tomatoes. I did sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top of theirs. My son picked at his plate, saying it was "too hot." He decided to save his supper for his lunch tomorrow. On the other hand, my daughter loved hers! She ate about half, but wasn't really hungry enough to finish up. She, too, decided to save hers for her lunch tomorrow. What a sweet feeling I had hearing both of my children saying that they wanted to save their leftover meal for their lunch too!