My Mama's Stuffed Bell Peppers

I grew bell peppers in my garden this summer, and they did pretty well, if i do say so. I had these last four peppers and decided to make Stuffed Peppers like my Mother used to. I don't know if she had an exact recipe or if she just did made them from memory, but her stuffed peppers were always delicious! I try to make them several times a year so that I don't forget how, so I guess it's high time that I wrote the method down. That's why I started this blog anyway, to put old family recipes on paper so that I wouldn't forget them. These peppers certainly qualify as an old family recipe. So let me tell you how to make these marvelous peppers! First off, you need to brown some lean ground beef in a skillet with some onions.

Let the meat brown before turning it over and breaking it apart. Don't just stir it around until it's grey. Meat needs to brown to bring out its great flavor. To the meat mixture add the cooked rice, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and seasonings. Cut the tops off of the peppers and place in a baking pan with fairly high sides. Pack the meat into the peppers. Bake for about 50 minutes and voila! Dinner is served! You'll have nice tender peppers full of deliciously seasoned, tender meat. This is home style food at its best!

MY MAMA'S STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

4 large bell peppers, any color

1 pound of very lean ground beef

1/2 of a large onion, diced

1 cup of cooked rice, either white or brown rice works

about 3/4 cup of tomato sauce- from an 8 ounce can

1/4 cup diced tomato, small dice

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or 1 clove of minced garlic

1 T. fresh parsley, diced, if desired

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the ground beef and the onion. Drain off any fat. Add the 1 cup of cooked rice, 3/4 cup of tomato sauce, diced tomato, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and simmer while preparing the peppers. Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Place peppers in a baking pan with fairly high sides(about 2 inches). Spoon the beef filling into the peppers, packing down somewhat, to the top. There should be a little tomato sauce left in the can, so fill the can about 3/4 full with water and pour it into the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes. Check to see if the peppers are tender. If not, cover and bake another 5-10 minutes. Remove foil and add a little cheese on top of each pepper, if desired. Bake just til cheese melts. Don't let it get rubbery like I did!

I sprinkled the cheese on top, placed the pan back in the oven, and went back to playing with my granddaughter, so I over baked the cheese! At least the filling was delicious, so that made up for the rubbery tops.

My mother would sometimes add corn to the meat filling just to change it up some. It's quite good that way, plus the filling goes a bit farther. Also, It will depend on the size of the peppers as to how far the filling will go. I know there are other methods in making stuffed peppers, but this is my tried and true version. Hope you enjoy them!