Stuffed Bell Peppers

So the other day as the husband and I brainstormed our grocery list the subject of stuffed bell peppers came up. They sounded good and we hadn’t had them in quite a while. I dig around looking for the recipe I used last time but try as I might I could not find it. So okay let’s wing it. I know the basic ingredients…bell peppers, ground meat, rice…

I have to say what I came up with was rather tasty.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
4-6 green bell peppers (can use any color but the husband prefers the green)
1 1/2 cup of cooked white rice
1 pound of hamburger (or any ground meat really)
1 small onion – diced
1 T minced garlic
1 t salt
1/4 t cracked black pepper
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t Worcestershire
8 oz no salt added tomato sauce
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I recommend applewood smoke Gruyere)

Cook your rice. Honestly, I cheat and use 5 minute rice. It’s easy.

While your rice is cooking, add the garlic, diced onions and hamburger in a skillet and cook until meat is done and onions is transparent. Drain the grease and return to the skillet. Add the spices, Worcestershire and tomato sauce. (Now don’t look at me strangely for the nutmeg. It’s actually quite tasty in savory dishes. Just remember that a little nutmeg can go a long way. And if you can…Fresh nutmeg is best.) Add the diced mushrooms and let simmer on low for about 5 minutes or so.

While that is simmering, prepare your bell peppers. I prefer to cut my bell peppers in half versus keeping it whole. You get a higher filling to bell pepper ratio. Make sure to cut off as much as the inner membranes as possible without damaging the outer shell.

Add the rice to the meat mixture and give it a good stir. Spoon the mixture into the prepared bell pepper shells and place on a cookie sheet. Put into a preheated 350 degree oven and back for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, pull out and add the shredded cheese if you want and put back into the over for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Serve with a salad and enjoy! They turned out so good!

Shepard's Pie

1# ground beef
1/2 onion diced
2 cans of corn, drained
3-4 cups of mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese, divided
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef with diced onion, salt and pepper and drain. Place ground beef into a 9″ pyrex pie dish. Add the drained corn on top. Cover with 1/2 cup of cheese. Make mashed potatoes (you can totally use instant if you are short on time). I use 3-4 cups but I also like it potato heavy. You can cut it down to 2 cups if you so desire. Spread the potato on top, making sure you cover all the meat, corn and cheese. Add a little bit of salt and cracked black pepper to the top and then cover with the remainder of the cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is a nice golden brown. Serves 4-6 depending on portion size.