What’s For Dinner? Stuffed Peppers

*This is one of my go-to recipes for many reasons.  One, it only has 6 ingredients.  Yup, just 6.  And sometimes I don’t have quite enough of one ingredient, but honestly it still works out just fine.  Also, it is great as leftovers.

 Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers 2Ingredients

4-5 green bell peppers, depending on size of pepper

1 3/4 cups white rice (cooked)

12 oz. ground beef (or substitute) *we aren’t vegetarians, but many of our family members are, so we use Morning Star Griller Crumblers

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

 

Stuffed PeppersInstructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook hamburger (or soy protein) in large skillet, until completely browned.  Add crushed tomatoes and rice, stir well.  Turn heat to low.

Cut around the top of the peppers and clean out all of the seeds and flesh inside.

(Tip:  After cleaning out the peppers, I turn them upside down on a plate and microwave them for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.  I do this because then the peppers and the filling are both warmed up and cooked a bit before putting into the oven.)

Using a 9×9 baking dish, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce (maybe 3-4 tablespoons) on the bottom of the pan, to prevent the peppers from sticking.

Place the 4 or 5 peppers (as many as you can fit in the pan) into the dish and begin filling them with the following:  one layer of the rice/hamburger mixture, one thin layer of tomato sauce, and one layer of mozzarella cheese. Repeat until full.  I finish with a cheese layer, and then use the remaining tomato sauce to pour over the top of everything before putting it into the oven (if you leave cheese as the very top, it gets very brown/sometimes burns, so the sauce over top will help with that).

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Peppers 3

*I serve them with corn muffins, and there’s really no need for anything else.  The giant pepper with a corn muffin on the side will definitely fill you up!

*As I mentioned, we use Morningstar Griller Crumblers.  These can be found in the frozen section of Hyvee and Walmart.  Even though we are not vegetarians, we actually prefer these to ground beef. I use them as a substitute in many of my go-to recipes, including chili, tacos, and lasagna

Looking for more dinner ideas? Check out these other great recipes!

 

Sara
Sara and her husband Matt (sweethearts since they were just 16) got married in 2007, and since then have welcomed four beautiful children (Sam in 2008, Cooper in 2010, Nora in 2012, and Adam James in December 2015). A born-and-raised Iowan, Sara received both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees (in Spanish Literature) from the University of Iowa. She's still teaching Spanish wherever and whenever she can, but her true passion is owning Iowa City Moms and building this community alongside her amazing team. Sara is also the Community Engagement Coordinator for City Mom Collective, and the owner of Cowork Collective downtown Iowa City. Common denominator in all of these jobs: community, community, community.

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