Lily White
Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Peppers -- one of my favourites. Not really hard in terms of difficulty, but it takes a bit of time to put together. Lately, Noella has been very interested in watching me cook....I'll attach her booster seat to a high seat (or if it's safe and there is space, I'll sit her on the counter for a real front-row seat), which means making these time-consuming dishes is possible because she just wants to watch, taste, chat and sometimes help (sprinkling on cheese, stirring etc...) She just loves it, and so do I to be honest.
I've been making these peppers for years. They are good especially this time of year when peppers are in season and so aren't too expensive. Noella also likes them. She'll eat the inside bit, but she especially likes the peppers. They start out blanched in boiling water and then get nice and roasty soft in the oven.
STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
Original recipe from Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Peppers and Rice:
water
salt
4 medium red, yellow or orange bell peppers
1/2 cup long-grain rice (I usually use a bit more)
Sauce:
1 cup chopped onion (I usually use a bit less)
diced pepper tops (from the tops cut off the peppers you just boiled)
3/4 lb lean ground beef
2 minced garlic cloves
14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, drained, reserve 1/4 cup juice
1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 TB parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Topping:
reserved tomato juice from tomatoes
2 TB ketchup or chili suace
Oven temp: 350 F
Peppers and Rice:
Bring water to a boil in a large pot (the recipe says 4 quarts water, I just fill a large pot 3/4 full). Add salt. Cut tops off peppers and remove innards. Add peppers to water and boil 3 to 5 minutes, just to soften peppers. Remove peppers, draining off excess water and place on paper towels. Return water to a boil, add rice and boil until tender, about 13 minutes (I usually do a bit more time). Drain rice and set aside (Sara Moulton calls this method of making rice "Rice for the rice impaired" since you don't have to fiddle with exact amounts of rice and water, but rather just drain the rice once it's cooked like you would pasta).
Sauce:
In skillet cook ground beef, onion, and diced pepper tops until beef is cooked and veggies are softened. Drain off any fat (if there is any and you wish to do so). Return to skillet. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a boil and add the rice. Stir in tomatoes, 1 cup shredded cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
Topping:
Mix both together.
Assembly:
Place peppers cut side up in baking dish. Fill peppers, Spoon 2 TB topping mixture over each filled pepper and sprinkle each with 1 TB remaining cheese (or use extra cheese for the topping, as I did). Bake unti cheese is browned and filling is heated through, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.
Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Peppers -- one of my favourites. Not really hard in terms of difficulty, but it takes a bit of time to put together. Lately, Noella has been very interested in watching me cook....I'll attach her booster seat to a high seat (or if it's safe and there is space, I'll sit her on the counter for a real front-row seat), which means making these time-consuming dishes is possible because she just wants to watch, taste, chat and sometimes help (sprinkling on cheese, stirring etc...) She just loves it, and so do I to be honest.
I've been making these peppers for years. They are good especially this time of year when peppers are in season and so aren't too expensive. Noella also likes them. She'll eat the inside bit, but she especially likes the peppers. They start out blanched in boiling water and then get nice and roasty soft in the oven.
STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
Original recipe from Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Peppers and Rice:
water
salt
4 medium red, yellow or orange bell peppers
1/2 cup long-grain rice (I usually use a bit more)
Sauce:
1 cup chopped onion (I usually use a bit less)
diced pepper tops (from the tops cut off the peppers you just boiled)
3/4 lb lean ground beef
2 minced garlic cloves
14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, drained, reserve 1/4 cup juice
1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 TB parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Topping:
reserved tomato juice from tomatoes
2 TB ketchup or chili suace
Oven temp: 350 F
Peppers and Rice:
Bring water to a boil in a large pot (the recipe says 4 quarts water, I just fill a large pot 3/4 full). Add salt. Cut tops off peppers and remove innards. Add peppers to water and boil 3 to 5 minutes, just to soften peppers. Remove peppers, draining off excess water and place on paper towels. Return water to a boil, add rice and boil until tender, about 13 minutes (I usually do a bit more time). Drain rice and set aside (Sara Moulton calls this method of making rice "Rice for the rice impaired" since you don't have to fiddle with exact amounts of rice and water, but rather just drain the rice once it's cooked like you would pasta).
Sauce:
In skillet cook ground beef, onion, and diced pepper tops until beef is cooked and veggies are softened. Drain off any fat (if there is any and you wish to do so). Return to skillet. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a boil and add the rice. Stir in tomatoes, 1 cup shredded cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
Topping:
Mix both together.
Assembly:
Place peppers cut side up in baking dish. Fill peppers, Spoon 2 TB topping mixture over each filled pepper and sprinkle each with 1 TB remaining cheese (or use extra cheese for the topping, as I did). Bake unti cheese is browned and filling is heated through, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.