Italian-Style Stuffed Peppers

My children can be so picky at times and the older they get the harder it is for me to get them to try different dishes these days.  I guess they have it honest because most of my family are picky eaters as well.  Like my dad for instance, he won't eat any kind of seafood.  Nor will he try anything new.  The same thing with my mom.  Since she has been visiting the girls and I more frequently, she has opened up a little.  Oh, trust me it's not easy!  She complains the whole time until she taste's it.  LOL!  Even then she'll say, it's not too bad but I still don't like it.  Secret be told, I think she don't wanna admit that her daughter cooks better than her!  Hahahaha!  Shhhhhh...don't tell her I said that.  :/

I have always wanted to try Stuffed Red Peppers.  My foodie friends are always talking about how delish this dish is and finally back in September 2012 I finally tried my hand at this.  One of my fellow foodie friends, Bob, gave be a brief list of items that I needed and I just took it from there.  I kind of did my own thing and followed blending and cooking instructions from a blog called dashingdish.com.  By the way, you guys should check it out.  There is some delicious recipes on there.  OH MY...it was soooooooo good ya'll!  My mom was visiting us at the time.  The girls spent the Summer with her and she brought them back home.  She even enjoyed it to my surprise.  Of course she had a complaint, which was why didn't I put more filling in hers!  LOL!  As for my lovely girls, the youngest took her meat mixture out of the pepper, gave her pepper to my mom and just ate it with her salad.  The grated Parmesan is missing from the picture below.  Sorry about that but I was moving too fast.

Ingredients:
-1 lb ground beef (I used a little more than a pound.)
-4 red bell peppers
-Spaghetti sauce, I used the sauce with cheese (to your satisfaction)
-1 1/2 tsps dried basil
-Fresh oregano, chopped (to your satisfaction)
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1/2 tsp salt and pepper
-1 cup fresh spinach, rinse and drained
-Green onions, chopped (to your satisfaction)
-2 Tbsps grated Parmesan
-Mozzarella cheese or cheese of your choice
-Rice, cooked (I can't remember how much I used.)
-Non stick cooking spray

Line baking pan with with foil and coat with non-stick spray.  Cook meat in pan over med heat.  Drain meat and return to pan.

 Add sauce and seasonings to pan and simmer for about 10 to 20 minutes.  In a sauce pan, saute the garlic and green onions in a little extra olive oil.  Add the spinach, oregano, green onions, garlic, rice and Parmesan cheese to the meat mixture; stir until everything is well combined; and remove from heat.

Scoop 1/2 cup of the meat mixture into each pepper.

 

Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly brown.

Remove and let cool.  You may want to use more that 4 red bell peppers because there is plenty of meat mixture to go around unless you use some very large peppers.  I served these with some salad.

Enjoy!


Jill's Comfort Zone