Recipes: Stuffed Peppers - From Comfort To Gourmet

When the chicken I had planned for tonight was taking too long to thaw, I needed a dinner rescue, and quickly. Some leftover sale mushrooms in the fridge and a couple pounds of lean ground beef got me thinking of stuffed peppers, but this is one dish I've flubbed before. The last time I attempted them (unfortunately, for company), the stuffing was delicious, but the peppers were, well, crunchy. Rather an unpleasant foil to the savoury goodness inside.

This time I was not to be "foiled" again. Boiling the halved and gutted green peppers first made all the difference! On the spur of the moment, leftovers on hand and quick-cook staples allowed me to whip together a simple but great stuffing, and thanks to the precooked peppers I was able to have a delicious - and healthy - meal on the table in about 20 minutes.


Simple Stuffed Peppers

2 large green peppers
1 c. minute rice, cooked
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 medium yellow onions, diced
1 c. button mushrooms, diced
1/2 tsp. onion salt
vegetable oil
salt
3/4 c. cheddar cheese, grated

Clean peppers well and halve lengthwise, removing all seeds and pith. Bring to a boil in a pot of salted water, and boil for 8 minutes, then remove from heat. Meanwhile, scramble-fry beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Add onion, mushrooms, rice, and enough oil to prevent sticking, reduce to medium heat and continue cooking another 2 minutes. Add onion salt and salt to taste. Cover and remove from heat.
Drain peppers and arrange in casserole dish. Stuff with beef mixture, packing well. Any leftover mixture can be reserved for later. Top stuffed peppers with cheese and broil on high for 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with any leftover stuffing, and add salad of mixed greens and a light vinaigrette.

My husband and my toddler both loved this quick meal, and A. suggested I consider using this recipe the next time we have company for dinner. A few simple tweaks turn this dish from cozy comfort food to company's-coming gourmet.

Gourmet Tweaks

Substitute 1 c. long grain & wild rice for minute rice, prepared according to directions.
Use provolone instead of cheddar cheese to top peppers.
Garnish with a cherry tomato.

Comments

Post a Comment

Please leave a name at the bottom of your comment if using the no-login option - I like to know who I'm addressing! Thanks. :)

Popular posts from this blog

The Fruit Of My Labour

I love, absolutely love, getting ripe fruit and veggies off the clearance rack (49c to 99c) at our local No Frills for next to nothing. I also love their doorcrasher sales - like a fantastic basket of peaches I picked up this week for a couple of dollars. Of course, peaches don't keep very well once they're ripe, so I had to find something to do with them. We've been eating them like crazy, and I have had a good chuckle at my husband peeling the fuzzy skin off his peaches before eating them. It reminds me of my little brother, who used to say "it gives me shiver-ies!" Last night I saw that some of them were starting to rot, so today I set to making peach chutney. I read online that if you dip a peach in boiling water for 30 seconds, the skin slips off easily. So, I blanched, skinned, sliced and chopped peaches this morning, sprinkling them with lemon juice and salt. Then I boiled vinegar and brown sugar with finely chopped onion, cumin, coriander, and a pinch mo
Read more

"I Believe I Can Fly"

Do you ever feel like you're trapped in a hopelessly ordinary life? The tedium of your day to day responsibilities weighs you down like a millstone around your neck when you think of the dreams and passions you had in your youth. Maybe you dreamed of being a social activist, a political leader, a missionary, or a well-known writer, and now you're just an average Joe with an average job and a family to take care of. With all the routine busyness of everyday life, you've stopped pursuing or even thinking much about your grand dreams. Maybe you do still cherish some secret passions, but have stopped believing that you will ever achieve anything. You doodle endlessly in the margins of your notebook at staff meetings, but don't take the idea of drawing for a living seriously. You send money to World Vision, but never go yourself to see, hear, touch the people in desperate need. You write songs that you might share with a few friends, but don't take the leap of pursuing a
Read more

By Request

Hello dear readers! It has been several months since I last posted on this blog, since the life of a large family has consumed much of my time and resources. From time to time I have thought of The Happy Domestic blog, as issues have come up on which I felt I had something of value to say or share, but mostly these have been shelved for a more opportune time. In recent days, however, I have had a number of people ask me when I will put up another post, and tell me that they miss reading my day-in-the-life stories, encouragement, and recipes. So, dear readers, I will try to set aside some regular time (weekly, perhaps) to blog about things that I hope will be helpful or humourous for you to enjoy. Stay tuned to get the latest on some great new recipes that I have discovered, and some life lessons I have learned in the last year! I look forward to renewing my creative outlets here, on The Happy Domestic.
Read more