Beef and Vegetable Stuffed Peppers
These had so much promise but ended up being a little bland. I’m going to blame it on buying off-brand canned tomatoes [what was I thinking?] and going with ground beef. I haven’t had a stuffed pepper in a long time, so was really looking forward to digging into one.
I think ground beef is boring unless you’re making a burger. Next time pork or some sort of sausage. I think that would have gone a long way. The vegetables helped add bulk to an otherwise boring meatloaf baked in a pepper. I mowed down two of them and ended up comfortably full, but in that “I really didn’t have carbs” kind of way. It’s a weird kind of full.
I will forge ahead in the world of stuffed peppers.
Inspiration: No Crumbs Left
Ingredients
- 4 red bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cups of mushrooms, sliced
- 1 pound ground beef, 15% fat or less
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 2 handfuls of chopped spinach
- 28oz can of crushed fire roasted tomatoes, drained
- salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
Preparation
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cut the tops off of the peppers. Clean out the seeds and membrane from the inside. Blanch the peppers in the pot of boiling water for five minutes. Remove from the pot, drain, and cool.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and cook for only one minute more, stirring often. Add the mushrooms and a large pinch of salt, cracked pepper, and a pinch or two of cayenne. Stir until combined. Remove the mixture from the pan and set aside.
Brown the ground beef int he pan. Break the beef up into small chunks. Once browned, add the zucchini and spinach. Cook until the spinach has wilted and the zucchini is starting to soften. Return the mushroom mixture to the pan with the beef. Add 1 1/2 cups of tomatoes and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil before turning off the heat.
Bring the oven to 350 degrees and pull out an 8″ x 8″ pan. Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture. Top with the remaining tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pepper is easily pierced with a knife. Allow the peppers to cool for a few minutes before serving.