I am so excited to have my good friend Dee from Cupcakes and Crowbars here on the blog today. I met Dee last year at SNAP (a blogging conference) and she is seriously one of my best friends now! Make sure to follow her blog and check her out on Facebook!
Quick and easy, this meal will fill your family up with warm comfort food on a cold night. My grandma used to make stuffed peppers when I was a kid, and I always rebelled against eating the pepper. I liked the flavor of it in the food, but did not want it in my mouth. Now that I’m grown and my tastebuds have matured, I still don’t eat the pepper. But I will MOW down the delicious insides!
This recipe as pictured makes 12 peppers, but is easily reduced. Start by washing peppers thoroughly. Use a sharp knife to remove the top, then scoop out and discard the seeds. I pull the stem out of the chopped off top and cut the useable pepper from around it. Boil a large pot of water, drop peppers in (in small batches if you need to, who has a pot big enough to give 12 peppers room to roam? Not me. Not this guy.). Boil for 2 minutes, then carefully remove and drain them. Set aside to cool.
In a large pot (I’d use the same one I boiled the peppers in. Fewer dishes to wash, holla), heat veg oil over med-low (or bacon fat … I’m not going to lie, I use bacon fat). Add the extra green pepper you cut away from the stem, red and yellow sweet pepper, garlic, and onion. Saute until onion is translucent and garlic fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 2 lbs ground turkey, breaking it up and cooking until well browned. Drain the cooked off liquid (which is mostly grease if you used beef instead of turkey) and return mixture to pan. Add 3 cups of rice and 5 cups of chicken stock, or beef stock if you used ground beef. Cover and cook over medium heat until liquid is absorbed. Stir in crumbled bacon. Place your now-cooled peppers on a large cookie sheet and use a large table spoon to fill the peppers with the mixture. Use the back of the spoon to gently pack it down some. Overfill the peppers so the mixture is mounded up on top. Sprinkle with shredded pepperjack cheese and place in a preheated 350* F oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is starting to brown.
Gorgeous! Serve with a large garden salad and garlic bread.
- 12 Green Peppers
- 2 lb ground turkey (or beef)
- 2 each small sweet red and yellow peppers, seeded and diced
- 3 c rice
- 4.5 c chicken stock (beef stock if using ground beef)
- 1 med onion, diced (or 2 tbsp onion powder)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or bacon fat)
- Salt & pepper to taste.
- Wash, remove seeds and stems, blanch peppers for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In large pot, saute garlic, onion, and red & yellow peppers over med heat for 2 mins.
- Add ground meat and cook until browned. Drain off excess liquid and return mixture to pot.
- Add rice and stock, cover and cook over med heat until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
- Stir in crumbled bacon, mixing well.
- Arrange empty peppers on large cookie sheet and fill to heaping with mixture.
- Sprinkle with pepper jack or mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in preheated 350*F oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.
