Stuffed Bell Peppers

This dish, requested by my wife recently was a first for me. I have never been a bell pepper fan, unless they are sauteed almost beyond oblivion. That being said, I have not tried bell peppers made otherwise for probably the last 20 years. As once I “know” I don’t like something and it is stuck in my head, it is pretty hard to convince me otherwise.

So last week when my wife requested it, I had no clue. Instead of perusing the internet, I turned first to one of my sisters. Thankfully enough, she had a tried and true recipe. Truth be told however, this “recipe” was her scribbling down notes while her husbands grandmother made these for them years ago. This is same way she got her meatballs recipe, which I have shared with you (Your New Favorite Meatballs), and are pretty darn good.

So this recipe is slightly adapted, from a slightly adapted recipe from an Italian Grandmother. Can’t beat it!

Started out with a colorful assortment.

Just out of the oven.

Ready to eat!!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

6 peppers, plus 1 pepper diced

2 tablespoons oil, divided

1 onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch red pepper flakes

½ lb ground beef

2 cups cooked white rice

3 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup grated parmesan

¼ cup grated mozzarella

¼ cup parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper

Flour (Gluten Free APF if desired)

1 cup marinara sauce

Instructions

Sauté onion, diced pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes in oil. Once softened, add ground beef and cook until browned through. Remove from heat and mix the meat mixture with the rice. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the top off the 6 peppers, and remove the insides. Sprinkle the insides with flour, then fill with the meat/rice/cheese mixture.

Flour the tops, and fry in oil for 5 minutes or so (see note).  Add to a pan, pouring sauce over the tops of the peppers. Add a cup of water or so to the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour or until tender.

*Note: After flouring the tops, flip upside down to brown in the oil. The mixture inside is fairly wet at this point, so the mixture should not fall out if is packed in pretty well.

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