Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed bell peppers, in a nutshell, are bell peppers stuffed with hamburger. With that in mind, I follow the two rules of thumb in making juicy hamburgers when I make my stuffed bell peppers. First,  I only use ground meat with good fat content such as that from chuck. Lean maybe in but ground beef with at least 18% percent fat ratio is best for moist and flavorful meatballs, hamburgers and meatloaves. Second, I carefully handle the meat mixture when mixing in the seasonings and additions as over manipulation results to dry, crumbly meat filling. Baked in a fresh tomato sauce, these stuffed bell peppers are always a hit at the dinner table. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

1 hrs 10 mins

Total Time

1 hrs 25 mins

 

Servings: 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic , peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley , chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion , peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup uncooked rice
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 bell peppers

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, parsley and oregano. Blend until smooth.
2. In a pot over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onions and cook until limp. Remove half of the onions and allow to cool. In the pot with remaining onions, add the processed tomato mixture and wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. In a bowl, gently combine ground beef, rice, the remaining half of onions, paprika, dried basil and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cut peppers lengthwise into half and remove seeds. Using a spoon, fill each pepper with ground meat mixture.
5. In a baking dish, add tomato sauce. Arrange bell peppers on prepared dish with stuffed side up. Spoon some of the sauce on each of the peppers. Cover with foil and bake in a 375 F oven for about 35 to 40 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Serve hot with the sauce.