Recipe: Stuffed Peppers

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Got a great deal on green bell peppers yesterday, so I
bought several and decided to make stuffed peppers.
Something I haven't made in awhile, but was having a few
people over for Sunday dinner and I thought this would be
different and well-received. It was!

here's what I did:

Stuffed Peppers

3 large bell peppers

If I might add something here. Green peppers work but
stuffed peppers are phenomenal with red Bell peppers.

And the other things, lots of people have trouble
digesting the skin on the peppers. Using the old
blowtorch, char the skin then drop into a paper bag and
seal, leave for five minutes.

Take em' out, peel em and you get all the flavor and none of
the bad effects.

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

<snip>

Quoted message said:

2 cups cooked white rice (I made extra yesterday knowing I
was making this today)

<snip>

Do you think one could use raw rice instead of cooked? The
rice would then cook while being baked and absorb some of
the tomato flavour without getting too mushy. Or maybe the
liquid portion won't be enough to cook the rice?

rona

--
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and they will
[censored] upon your computer."
--Bruce Graham

I just posted another topic concerning stuffed bell peppers
then saw this recipe. Sheryl, do you think it is possible to
make this several days ahead of time then put it in the
freezer, or would this adversely affect the bell peppers.
I'm thinking tryiing this because I cook for two, and would
like to do the whole recipe, it's for 4, and save two for
another day, or the wife could take one to work for lunch
later in the week.

What do you think.

Jim

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Got a great deal on green bell peppers yesterday, so I
bought several and decided to make stuffed peppers.
Something I haven't made in awhile, but

was

Quoted message said:

having a few people over for Sunday dinner and I thought
this would be different and well-received. It was!

here's what I did:

Stuffed Peppers

3 large bell peppers 2 cups cooked white rice (I made
extra yesterday knowing I was making this today)
3/4 pound ground beef (no reason not to use turkey) 1
medium onion 1 jar Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic
spaghetti sauce 1 cup shredded "Italian 6 Cheese Blend"
2 cloves garlic, minced basil, oregano 1 teaspoon olive
oil 1 egg, well beaten

Wash and halve the peppers lengthwise, removing the
core and all

membranes.

Quoted message said:

Set aside.

Mince the onion and garlic. In a large skillet, heat the
oil, reduce to medium heat and saute the onion until soft
and fragrant. Add the garlic

and

Quoted message said:

ground beef, and stir often, breaking the meat into small
pieces. Season

to

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taste with salt and pepper.

Get a baking pan large enough for the six pepper halves.
Pour half the

jar

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of sauce through a strainer, letting the thin sauce land
in the baking

pan.

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Take the chunks of tomatoes out of the strainer and add to
the skillet.

Stir

Quoted message said:

well. Stir in the rice and the herbs, and mix well. Remove
from heat.

Stir in half a cup of the shredded cheese. Taste and
adjust seasonings if necessary.

Add more sauce to the pan if desired. Refrigerate leftover
sauce for

future

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use.

Spoon the stuffing mixture into the pepper halves,
mounding slightly. Arrange the pepper halves in the baking
dish with the sauce. Add half a

cup

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of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with foil
and bake for

45

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minutes at 400 degrees, until the peppers begin to soften.

Remove the foil, top each pepper with the remaining half a
cup of cheese, and let bake for 15 minutes more, until the
cheese melts and is bubbly.

Serves 6.

I served this with a nice romaine, pear, orange, onion and
toasted walnut salad, as a first course, which I have made
before to rave reviews with a simple thin vinaigrette of
walnut oil, white wine vinegar and orange juice which I
made with my hand blender. That was seasoned with just
salt and

lots

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of cracked black pepper. I layered the romaine on a
platter, arranged the fruit and onions on top of the bed
of lettuce, and topped with the

walnuts.

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The dressing was served on the side. My guests had never
eaten a salad

like

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that and they enjoyed it a lot!

For dessert, we had cookies and brownies which my guests
brought, and I

had

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a fruit salad of cut up cantaloupe, strawberries and
grapes which i served with the sweets. i also put out the
bottle of Ubet Chocolate Syrup, which

we

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dipped the strawberries in. I opened a bottle of Riff
Pinot Grigio with dinner, which is one of my new
favorites.

All in all, my dinner was a big hit! Everyone was full,
people tried new things they didn't know they liked, and
the company was great! Oh, and I have a new recipe for
Stuffed Bell Peppers! Next time, I might forego the meat
entirely and just add mushrooms and maybe some diced
carrots and

corn.

in article gigjc.43622$_L6.2748849@attbi_s53, Jim a at
[email hidden] wrote on 4/26/04 6:45 PM:

Quoted message said:

I just posted another topic concerning stuffed bell
peppers then saw this recipe. Sheryl, do you think it is
possible to make this several days ahead of time then put
it in the freezer, or would this adversely affect the bell
peppers. I'm thinking tryiing this because I cook for two,
and would like to do the whole recipe, it's for 4, and
save two for another day, or the wife could take one to
work for lunch later in the week.

What do you think.

Jim

Don't even bother to freeze them. Just cover them tightly in
the fridge and serve for lunch a day or two later. They'll
be fine in the fridge for about 3-4 days. good luck!

in article [email hidden], Rona
Yuthasastrakosol at [email hidden] wrote on 4/26/04 5:51 PM:

Quoted message said:

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

<snip>

Quoted message said:

2 cups cooked white rice (I made extra yesterday knowing
I was making this today)

<snip>

Do you think one could use raw rice instead of cooked? The
rice would then cook while being baked and absorb some of
the tomato flavour without getting too mushy. Or maybe the
liquid portion won't be enough to cook the rice?

rona

Oh..i wouldn't advise that! Unless it's instant.

I remember watching my mom making stuffed peppers and
stuffed cabbage with raw rice when I was growing up.

When I was in college, I attempted to make stuffed cabbage.
I used raw rice, "just like Mom used to". Bzzzzzz wrong!

Mom used instant rice. I didn't realize that. I used regular
long grain, "25 cents a pound if you buy store-brand" rice.
They came out awful! Half-cooked rice, surrounded by ground
beef. Called Mom, asked what I did wrong. She told me to pre-
cook the rice, most of the way, anyway, if I was gonna use
regular rice, or to use Instant.

The rice didn't get too mushy last night in the stuffed
peppers because it dried out some in the fridge overnight,
plus there wasn't a lot of liquid in the mixture, so it
didn't absorb much more. You could compensate if you wanted
to by cooking the rice until just "al dente".

I have experimented with different ways of making stuffed
peppers and stuffed cabbage. I prefer pre-cooking the meat
and rice for peppers. For cabbage, I like to use raw meat,
mixed with partially cooked rice, eggs and spices. Someone I
knew made stuffed cabbage with pre-browned ground beef and
it didn't taste right at all. Maybe there wasn't enough
rice, I'm not sure. She wasn't a very good cook, though.

I have found with stuffed veggies like cabbage and peppers,
I prefer more rice than meat. Mom always used about 2/3 meat
1/3 rice when I was little. But as I've experimented over
the years, I've decided I like it more when it's at least
50/50. 60/40 in favor of rice is ok, too.

"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

<snip>

Quoted message said:

2 cups cooked white rice (I made extra yesterday knowing
I was making this today)

<snip>

Do you think one could use raw rice instead of cooked? The
rice would then cook while being baked and absorb some of
the tomato flavour without getting too mushy. Or maybe the
liquid portion won't be enough to cook the rice?

rona

--
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle
and they will [censored] upon your computer."
-- Bruce Graham

I don't think raw rice would work, because of the expansion
of the rice. It would be hard to guesstimate if too little
or too much rice and/or liquid was in each pepper half.
Perhaps if you mixed the rice in the skillet with the
beef/turkey mixture before adding to the peppers. And cooked
it there in tomato juice.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on
nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.

In article <[email hidden]>, hahabogus

Quoted message said:

I don't think raw rice would work, because of the
expansion of the rice. It would be hard to guesstimate if
too little or too much rice and/or liquid was in each
pepper half. Perhaps if you mixed the rice in the skillet
with the beef/turkey mixture before adding to the peppers.
And cooked it there in tomato juice.

If you use raw meat and raw rice it works.

Regards, Ranee

--
Remove do not and spam to e-mail me.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord
of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man."
Acts 17:24

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Oh..i wouldn't advise that! Unless it's instant.

Instant! A pox on your tongue! Never suggest using instant
rice to any self-respecting Asian rice eater! Instant!?
Bah! Ptooey!

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Mom used instant rice. I didn't realize that. I used
regular long grain, "25 cents a pound if you buy store-
brand" rice. They came out awful! Half-cooked rice,
surrounded by ground beef. Called Mom, asked what I did
wrong. She told me to pre-cook the rice, most of the way,
anyway, if I was gonna use regular rice, or to use
Instant.

But it provides texture~! :-) Partially cooking the rice
seems like a good idea, but it adds yet another step. If I
only partially cook the rice, then I would have to make it
just for the peppers. May as well use fully cooked rice
since I almost always have leftovers, anyway. I see...(said
the blind man to the deaf dog who wasn't listening, anyway).

Quoted message said:

The rice didn't get too mushy last night in the stuffed
peppers because it dried out some in the fridge overnight,
plus there wasn't a lot of liquid

in

Quoted message said:

the mixture, so it didn't absorb much more. You could
compensate if you wanted to by cooking the rice until just
"al dente".

I have experimented with different ways of making stuffed
peppers and stuffed cabbage. I prefer pre-cooking the meat
and rice for peppers.

That makes sense, now that I think about it. By pre-cooking
the meat and rice, you protect against overcooking the
peppers. Using raw meat and rice, you'd have to cook it
longer and then the peppers would get soggy and lose their
colour. I hate overcooked bell peppers.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I have found with stuffed veggies like cabbage and
peppers, I prefer more rice than meat. Mom always used
about 2/3 meat 1/3 rice when I was

little.

Quoted message said:

But as I've experimented over the years, I've decided I
like it more when it's at least 50/50. 60/40 in favor of
rice is ok, too.

I like more meat in my stuffing (hee, hee ;-)).

rona

--
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and they will
[censored] upon your computer."
--Bruce Graham

in article [email hidden], Rona
Yuthasastrakosol at [email hidden] wrote on 4/27/04 6:46 AM:

Quoted message said:

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Oh..i wouldn't advise that! Unless it's instant.

Instant! A pox on your tongue! Never suggest using instant
rice to any self-respecting Asian rice eater! Instant!?
Bah! Ptooey!

I don't use instant rice. I pre-cook the rice.

My mother used instant. I never really liked rice much
growing up when my mom made it, and I found out it was
because she used instant. When I discovered "regular" rice,
I discovered I loved rice. I never understood why the rice
from the chinese restaurant always tasted better than the
stuff Mom made. When I went to college, I found out. <shrug>
My mother, rest her soul, was a very good cook, but she used
shortcuts.

I do not care for raw long-cooking rice in stuffed cabbage
or peppers, so I don't advise that. I prefer using either
partially cooked rice or just plain old leftover rice in the
meat mixture. Your mileage may vary, of course. I find the
results using raw (long cooking) rice mixed into the raw
meat too haphazard. Sometimes it works, sometimes it
doesn't. I'm not a gambler and can't afford to waste
ingredients if it comes out inedible. I'd rather just do
what I know works every time, at least from a "technical"
aspect. If I season something incorrectly, that's different,
it's still edible. Might not be tasty, but I'd eat it,
rather than waste food. But raw rice or over-cooked cabbage
or peppers? No thanks, not if I can help
it.

And I can help it. Precooked rice always works. So does
Instant. I recommend either, but prefer to use pre-cooked.

Sorry if I offended anyone with the suggestion of
instant rice.

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in article [email hidden]-
net.or.jp, Rona Yuthasastrakosol at [email hidden]
wrote on 4/27/04 6:46 AM:

Quoted message said:

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Oh..i wouldn't advise that! Unless it's instant.

Instant! A pox on your tongue! Never suggest using
instant rice to any self-respecting Asian rice eater!
Instant!? Bah! Ptooey!

I don't use instant rice. I pre-cook the rice.

I got that.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Sorry if I offended anyone with the suggestion of
instant rice.

I wasn't offended. I was actually being facetious, and I
kinda thought the "pox on your tongue" thing was funny. The
"ptooey" part was especially fun for me to write. I rarely
get to write 'ptooey', but I like the way it sounds so I try
to use it whenever I get the chance. Shoulda used some
smileys, I guess, but I have found that I've been using too
many smileys recently. It makes me feel like one of those
vapid teenaged girls who put little hearts instead of dots
above their 'i's. I hate those little hearts. Even those
little circles are preferable to hearts.

rona
---
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle
and they will [censored] upon your computer."
-- Bruce Graham