Easy, cheesy stuffed peppers

In cleaning out the gardens the other weekend I found that my green pepper plant still had a few on the vine. They were green – but being that they were green peppers, I’m not entirely sure that guarantees they were ripe?
They were little guys, but there were several, so I thought I’d take a stab at making some stuffed peppers.

I tried out two recipes and I’ll share both here:

Vegetarian version

You will need:

1 cup water
1tsp butter
1/2 cup rice
2 green bell peppers (large), or 3 small
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion (diced)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 pinch ground pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup cheddar, mozzarella or a mixture of both.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.

Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Cut peppers in half and core. Place them, cut edge down, onto the baking sheet and put in the oven for 20 minutes. (or until tender and skin starts to brown)

green peppers cut in half with cut side facing down on a cooking sheet

While they are cooking, put on your rice (with water and butter) to cook.
I used minute rice, so I just followed the instructions on the package.

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning salt and pepper in oil for 2 – 3 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another few minutes.

Add the prepared rice to this mixture and stir.

frypan mixture of tomato filling for peppers

When the peppers are done roasting, line the bottom with a bit of shredded cheese, then fill to the top with the rice mixture.
Top with the remaining cheese.

roasted half green pepper filled with shreds of mozzarella cheese

Bake in the same heated oven for another 5 minutes, until the cheese is all melted, and then serve immediately.

half dozen stuffed peppers on a plate covered with cheese

Meat Lover’s version

You will need:

6 large green bell peppers
2 cups rice
2 cups water
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion (diced)
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 lb italian pork sausage (casing removed)
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 (10oz) can diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.

Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Cut peppers in half and core them.

Bring rice, butter and water to a boil (I used minute rice, so I just followed the directions on the box)

In a medium skillet cook the diced onion in the olive oil until soft.

Add in lean ground beef, sausage, garlic and spices and cook until lightly browned.

Drain beef.

Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, beef broth and balsamic vinegar and cook for 5 minutes.

Combine beef mixture, 1/2 of the parmesan cheese and the prepared rice and stir until well combined.

I chose to line the bottom of the peppers with a bit of parmesan before stuffing them.

Stuff to the top and then add remaining parmesan cheese.

peppers, stuffed with beef mixture sitting on cooking sheet

half stuffed peppers topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. On cooking sheet

Cover the baking sheet with tin foil and bake peppers for approximately 25 minutes.

Remove the tin foil and bake until the cheese is melted and the top is lightly browned. (~ 15 minutes)

(I topped with a little extra mozarella for the super-gooey-cheesey look)

finished stuffed peppers covered with cheese. Two on a plate.

Serve immediately

Makes 12 half-pepper servings.

We tried out both recipes this week and I have to tell you – they were both really good.

I’m a meat lover usually, but the veggie version was really tasty.

You try and let me know which wins out.

Worst part of childhood.

Have a great one!

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