Growing up one of my favorite recipes that my mom would often prepare in the fall was her stuffed peppers. I looove stuffed peppers. So whe...

Mom's Adulterated Stuffed Peppers

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 ,


Growing up one of my favorite recipes that my mom would often prepare in the fall was her stuffed peppers. I looove stuffed peppers.
So when I grew up and got married I started making stuffed peppers.
In the fall.

But I have to admit, as much as I adore my mom's recipe,
I started adulterating them in the last couple years.
And the result has been an even yummier stuffed pepper.
{Sorry, mom.}

So here it is for your viewing pleasure
{unless you're one of those people who hates up-close images of food}:

Mom's Adulterated Stuffed Peppers


You start the way any stuffed pepper starts. 
Cored & seeded green bell peppers. 


Here's where the "adulterations" start. Mom's old recipe called for a par-boil bath of 15 minutes. I cut this down to a 5 minute par-boil. The end result is a tender pepper, but with a little bit of crunch left. 


Remove from boiling water and cool in appropriate vintage Pyrex baking dishes. 
Meanwhile...


Grab a pound to a pound & a half of LEAN ground beef. 
LEAN, folks. Unless you like greasy pooling fat at the bottom of your peppers...


Chop a large onion on IKEA cutting mat. 
{I love this cutting mat, comes in a pack - 1 red, 1 green. Use the red for meats, the green for fruits & veggies. Brilliant.}


Start to throw your stuffing accessories into a large vintage Pyrex mixing bowl. 

Next we break out the canned goods...

Two cans tomato sauce. BUT, only pour one and a half cans into the mix. The final 1/2 can will come into play for our grand finale. 


Another adulteration: canned corn. 
Just do it. 


Two servings cooked {brown, opt} rice. 
Prepared.
I do the whole microwave-in-Pampered-Chef-thing and it's a snap.


Next step, mom's recipe used to just call for the parm cheese as a last minute topping. But *I* say - add some to the mix! Go ahead and throw in a handful or two.
You won't regret. I promise.

I've even been known to throw in a handful of cheddar, too.
You know. Just for good measure.

BUT - you'd better NOT use the kind of parm cheese that comes powdered in a CAN. If you do, I'll defriend you. Because that's just not right...


Add some salt, pepper, and why not, some garlic.


Meanwhile, make sure your smallest Pie is resting happily with spouse. 
Do not skip this step.


Mix all that sin up thoroughly and spoon into peppers.
{I used to have barely enough to fill 6 peppers, but now with my adulterations I could easily fill 8.} If you have extra filling, freeze it and use it at a later date for some sick sort of taco or something...


Bake in oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes. 
BUT, we're going to go another 7 or so minutes, pull those peppers out and...


Remember that last 1/2 can of tomato sauce? 
Yeah, spoon it on top of them peppers.

And then???


Top with some more parmesan cheese. 
NOT the canned stuff. 
For seriously.


After another 7 minutes in the oven, remove and admire.


Serve on vintage Corelle, with salad {optional. the salad, not the Corelle}.
We're really liking that Dole Southwestern salad kit, 
have you tried it?


A lot of people aren't sure how to "approach" such a meal.
We like to cut ours in half. 

Aaaaaaaaand....

enjoy!

But wait!


Using feisty, red-headed baby, test quality.


She likes it!!!

...


Or does she???

___________________________________________

Mom's Adulterated Stuffed Peppers

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 green bell peppers, cored & seeded
1 - 1.5 lbs LEAN ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 servings rice, prepared
2 - 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 can sweet corn, drained
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt, pepper, and crushed garlic to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Par-boil peppers 5-7 minutes. Remove and cool in vintage Pyrex baking dishes.
2. In large vintage Pyrex mixing bowl, combine ground beef, chopped onion, prepared rice, tomato sauce (save 1/2 a can and set aside), corn, cheeses, salt, pepper, and garlic. Mix thoroughly until combined. Spoon into peppers.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and top each pepper with 1 spoonful of tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese. Return to oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. 

_________________________________________

Enjoy!

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3 comments

  1. Yummy!!! I will have to give them a whirl on a cold Fall day real soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cute post! I can be a bit of a food snob but I will never, ever part forever with my green jar of ground Parmesan cheese. I don't even buy Kraft, I buy store brand. I know it's shameful. I have a thing for that gritty texture. Defriend me if you must.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your mother has been using her grandmother's recipes for years--and things change over the years, even in culinary skills.
    But not to worry, you didn't adulterate the basic recipe, you ameliorated it--that's what great great-granddaughters are for! I'll try it. I love stuffed peppers too.
    Beautiful stuffed peppers; beautiful baby!

    Gramma

    ReplyDelete

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