Easy Stuffed Peppers

We love stuffed peppers. This is my basic, tried-and-true recipe, but I have several great recipes leaning toward taco flavors (ha ha, imagine that!). I grew up eating stuffed peppers prepared similarly, but Brad describes the ones his grandma made him as having a soupy ground beef, tomato, rice and corn mixture. I have a hard time imagining this concoction. How do you prepare yours? Maybe I'm the strange one! Strange or not, this simple recipe only consists of 6 ingredients. It's also very economical depending on how expensive the bell peppers are. I had to cringe last week as I paid 78 cents per pepper. I was hoping for them to be 2 for $1.00, but I had no such luck. If you raise your own peppers this dish would easily be under 50 cents per serving. Everyone in the family ate (including Makayla whose didn't have the ground beef in it) and enjoyed this dish. I even had one leftover for my lunch today... that's right Brad. Don't even think you're getting it. I'll stab you with my fork as I'm shoveling it in my mouth :)

EASY STUFFED PEPPERS
4 large green bell peppers
4 cups cooked rice (I do about 1 cup per person)
2 cans tomato sauce
1 lb ground beef
1 medium chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
salt and pepper

Fill 1/2 large pot with water and bring to a boil. Brown beef with onion and garlic. Drain and return to pan. Cut tops off of peppers and remove insides. Place in boiling water and cook 4 minutes, turning after 2 minutes. Peppers should be bright green and crisp tender. Set cooked peppers on paper towels to cool and drain. Add rice to ground beef, onion and garlic mixture. Stir in 1 1/2 cans of tomato sauce. Mix well and fill peppers with rice mixture. Place peppers in greased baking dish and top with remaining sauce. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

*I cut the cooked peppers in half and stuff them for the kids.

Comments

Ronnica said…
The only ones I've ever seen were stuffed with meatloaf. I've never eaten them, but this one looks good!
Norah said…
I'm with you. The simpler the ingredients the better. I do my stuffed peppers in the pressure cooker and add lots of garlic. But then I am a huge fan of garlic. I don't precook my rice but I may have to give that a try.
Heidi said…
Ronnica- I've never heard of stuffed peppers with meatloaf. Sounds good.

Norah- Pre-cooking the rice makes them cook a lot faster. You could add more garlic to this recipe. I'm a huge garlic fan, but this kids aren't. I have to go easy on it for them.
Norah said…
That's where the pressure cooker comes in handy it takes about 15 minutes total, even without precooking the rice. I just mix everything together and stuff the peppers and throw it in the pressure cooker.
jjnhubbs said…
Oh my gosh! It's another Norah - and spelled like my daughter's name! Love it!

Heidi these look so good! My mom used to make them all the time, but I don't think I've ever made them myself. Mom's are just like yours, except that she adds Velveeta cheese to her mix...yum! I'm going to have to add these to next weeks menu for sure!
Yours look a lot like mine... sounds good! I haven't made them in a while!
Raoulysgirl said…
I tweaked a Paula Deen recipe for stuffed red peppers (although I usually use green because they're cheaper). My family LOVES stuffed peppers! Actually, my girls don't like the peppers, I just put filling in ramekins and bake for them...but, that way, everyone's happy!!!
Heidi said…
Jennifer- I love old fashioned names (hence Sophie). Norah will thank you when she gets older because there won't be 10 girls in her class with that same name. Velveeta would be great in these peppers. My mom didn't use cheese in hers, but that sounds like a great addition. I have to be careful with the cheese because Brad is lactose intolerant and hates taking the medicine for it because it has some unwanted side effects (constipation).

Raoulysgirl- Oh... red peppers sound great too. Paula Deen usually isn't wrong. My girls and Brad didn't eat the peppers either, but they give the filling a nice mild pepperly flavor. Chase loves peppers and I ate all mine because I knew how much I paid for them!

Norah- I've never used a pressure cooker, but my grandmas uses hers alot. I'll have to give it a try because that's some fast cooking!
theUngourmet said…
I love stuffed peppers! My mom used to make them and I never ate the pepper part. I love pepper now!
teresa said…
I LOOOOVE stuffed peppers, these look so good!
Alexis AKA MOM said…
I'm just starting to love peppers I know late on the board ... LOL. Looks delish as always my dear. You rock!

I'm begging my friends to stop by ... LOL I know I'm just wanting a good turn out if possible so if you would be so kind stop over for my giveaway:

http://mom2mycrazy2.blogspot.com/2009/05/shelf-reliance-giveaway.html

XOXO :)
Jenn said…
I love stuffed peppers. This one is very easy indeed.
Kathy said…
I've made the ones your husband was describing, with the tomato soup in the mixture. I guess we weren't too crazy about it because I've never made them again. Not sure I could even find that recipe for you though?! I'll keep an eye out of you! :o) BTW, Your recipe looks great!!!
These look wonderful! I love stuffed peppers and haven't made them for awhile.
MaRiN said…
I've never made stuffed peppers. I don't why either, my family loves peppers. These look so yummy so I'll have to give them a try.
Gianina said…
Looks delicious. I wish my husband would let me make these... one of these days I might have to do it anyway.
Coleens Recipes said…
I love stuffed peppers. I had to chuckle about your surprise at the price of peppers. That is a pretty good price here in Alaska. In the winter, I pay $2.50 per pepper!
Kristen said…
I'll be honest with you, I've never make stuffed green peppers before (are you shocked?). I think they look great and that I would like them, I just never think to make them.
Rachel said…
Stuffed peppers sound so good--I just got home from work and am STARVING! Your recipe actually looks a lot like one my sister gave me, which I haven't made in forever!
Krista said…
Yummy! Stuffed peppers are so good. These look delicious!
Donna-FFW said…
I love stuffed peppers and your version looks fantastic. They are so versatile and can be filled with so many things. Delicious, Heidi!
Anonymous said…
I've never even had stuffed peppers before! these looks really homey and simple and delicious. I will definitely give them a try...
Norah said…
Jennifer, how cool is that. Sadly I do not like my name though.