Stuffed Peppers

We love these 🥰
I’ve been making them too long to measure, etc., so I’m sharing a version I found that’s the way I make them; minus the tops; I don’t do that 😉 ALSO, I use homemade or stewed tomatoes (tomato sauce, if I have it), not a marinara; I make my own sauce. And sometimes I use only beef; no sausage, other times I use both . I don’t always sauté onions first, I do not put them in sauce 😋 Lastly, I think 🤔, I have been using red peppers since my daughter moved in; she doesn’t like green bell peppers 🙄🫑 I have changed to using HALF peppers; it works better for serving size that we prefer, along with the long shape of many red peppers. 😂 🌶 Just know that ingredients can vary a little according to your preferences or what you have available; it’s an easy, very flexible dish; the important things are basic ratios, times and temperatures. A lot of pics added because of using different peppers, meat, pans & our preference for a lot of sauce 😉

This one is by Chef John, with a video! ⤵️ lot’s of pics follow, from various times/colored peppers 😃 Note: I do add a bit of brown sugar to our sauce 😉 AND Chef John has an updated version.
https://www.allrecipes.com/video/5515/chef-johns-stuffed-peppers/
Recipe –
Ingredients
• 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 cups water
Sauce:
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups marinara sauce
Fresh garlic, cooked lightly with olive oil
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Peppers:
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• ¼ pound hot Italian pork sausage, casing removed
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
• 4 large green bell peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for topping
Directions
• Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Step 2
Bring rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the cooked rice aside.
• Step 3
Cook onion and olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Transfer half of cooked onion to a large bowl and set aside.
• Step 4
Stir marinara sauce, beef broth, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes into the skillet; cook and stir for 1 minute.
• Step 5
Pour sauce mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Step 6
Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, diced tomatoes, Italian parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper into bowl with reserved onions; mix well. Stir in cooked rice and Parmigiano Reggiano. Stuff green bell peppers with beef and sausage mixture.
• Step 7
Place stuffed green bell pepper halves in the baking dish over tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
• Step 8
Remove aluminum foil and bake until the meat is no longer pink, the green peppers are tender and the cheese is browned on top, an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

😳

That was so good…I packed one for my “other” daughter to take to work for lunch 🥰

And again 😋🤭🫑🍅

Another time, with steps; like putting some sauce in bottom of pan/pot (varies depending on size & amount of peppers I’m using) first, then stuffed peppers, pour remaining sauce over all, top with parm, cover with foil (tented higher than peppers), bake half that way, remove foil & bake remaining time, like Chef John’s recipe. I like to refer back to his so that i don’t forget anything 😜 memory thing … ⤵️