Stuffed Peppers.

A childhood favorite! Mom used to make them all of the time but bless her, she doesn’t remember quite how she did…… 🙂

I can understand that, I cant remember what I made last week. Does the baby brain ever go away?!?

That’s the thing about childhood favorites and all that good food that your mom and grandma made. They didnt have recipes written down. It was just in their head. I honestly do not know how my grandmother kept up with them all. (She obviously didn’t have baby brain)

Thank goodness for the internet and the beloved Pinterest because now I do not even have to try.

Since I knew I would not be able to recreate the ones my mom made, there would be no reason to even try so I’m putting a different spin on them. More Mexican than Italian. Also, since my husband is not a fan of green bell peppers, I will do a mixture of red and green bell peppers.

Although, I haven’t given up on finding a recipe close to mom’s. Stayed tuned!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

(adapted from Trisha Yearwood)

• 6 large red or green bell peppers
• 2½ cups long-grain white rice (or rice of your choice)
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• ½ medium-size sweet onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 14.5-oz can Italian style diced tomatoes, with their juices
• 1 10-oz can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 16 oz sharp Mexican blend cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400º.

Cut the bell peppers in half, top to bottom. Remove the seeds and the ribs and wilt peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

To save time cook “boil in the bags” rice according to directions in the same water you cook peppers. Or you can cook regular rice in another pot. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic. Drain the meat. Add tomatoes to the meat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in rice, salts and pepper.

In a foil lined pan sprayed with cooking spray, place the bell peppers skin side down. Evenly divide the beef mixture among the pepper halves. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese and cilantro on the top. Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, until the cheese melts.

**** Next time I think I may add taco seasoning to kick up the Mexican flavor. ****

-abp