Here’s a colorful, quick and really easy dinner for all your fun friends.
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: French
PREP TIME
15 mins
COOK TIME
1 hour
TOTAL TIME
1 hour 15 mins
INGREDIENTS
6 red, green & yellow bell peppers (with even bottoms so they can stand upright)
1 pound ground beef (lean)
1 cup Basmati rice (cooked)
2 tablespoons each of extra-virgin olive oil and butter (for sautéing)
1 small yellow or white onion (chopped)
4 cloves fresh garlic (finely chopped)
10 cherry tomatoes (quartered) /I like Nature Sweet Cherubs
â…“ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
3 teaspoons kosher salt
3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
½ cup Asiago cheese (grated)
½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
â…“ cup Panko bread crumbs
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 375áµ’.
Cook the rice according to directions on package.
Wash your bell peppers and cut off the tops, and remove the seeds and extra whitish flesh from the inside of each pepper. Now, remove the stems from the tops of the peppers (discard the actual stems), and chop up the remaining bell pepper from the tops to add to the stuffing.
Now, get out your skillet and heat the butter and olive oil over a medium heat. Once the butter is all frothy, sauté the onions, garlic, extra chopped pepper from the tops, the tomatoes, and the parsley in the skillet.
Once the onions are translucent, push the vegetables over to one side of the skillet and brown the meat in the same skillet. It should brown in about 10 minutes. Then, add the salt, ground black pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, and paprika and incorporate the vegetables into the browned meat. Lastly, fold in the Asiago cheese.
Add your cooked rice to the meat mixture in your skillet and stir in the rice until blended.
Arrange your bell peppers upright in a baking pan and stuff each pepper with the meat-rice mixture.
In a bowl, mix together some Panko bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese along with a tablespoon of melted butter. Then, top each stuffed pepper with the bread crumb mixture.
Bake in your 375áµ’ oven for about 30-35 minutes until the tops are a nice golden brown. Top with a little sprig of fresh parsley and serve while still warm, along with a crusty, rustic bread.