Kombol's Super-stuffed Peppers
Open a bottle of good red wine to sip on while you cook.Ingredients:
- 4 to 6 large bell peppers, any color
- 1 cup uncooked white or brown rice
- Cook by package directions
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 to 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 large onion chopped
- One 15 ounce can of diced Italian tomatoes
- drained, reserve liquid if needed
- One 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, co-jack, etc)
- Cheese for topping (mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, etc.)
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb (adjust to taste)
- Seasonings/spice - vary to taste:
- 1-2 tsp. salt
- 1-2 tsp. pepper
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire
- Dash liquid smoke
Procedure:
- Cook the rice
- Can be done ahead of time
- Brown 1 pound ground beef with onion and garlic
- seasonings/spices
- Prepare bell peppers
- Alternate 1: Split in half lengthwise
- Alternate 2: Remove tops
- Remove membranes and seeds
- Steam in the microwave cut side down in a large glass baking dish with a little water
- 5-8 minutes, until slightly softened
- Combine beef, rice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Parmesan
cheese and the other cheese
- Add more spices to taste if needed
- Stuff the peppers with the rice, meat, etc mixture... heap them up!
- Topped with mozzarella, Parmesan or whatever other kind of cheese you have
- Note: use a "melty" cheese
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes
- until they brown slightly
Leftovers freeze well and are yummy for those times you don’t feel like cooking.
If you don’t want to make this many at once, you can save the remainder of the burger rice mixture and freeze it for later use. It can be the base for other dishes.
Makes 4-6 servings.
