Mother has always made stuffed peppers in the summer when the peppers hang bountifully on the stems of the plants. She used what she had on hand to make them as I do with success. So I am here to say you can too. We have made them with all colors of peppers, stuffed them with beef and rice or macaroni, using various sauces and whatever cheese was handy!
Easily you could use ground turkey or pork instead of beef and whatever seasonings and cheese your family likes.
I like the peppers better if I par boil or blanch them. Just bring a large kettle of water to a rolling boil and drop the peppers that you have cut the core out of, seeded, and removed the ribs or veins from into the rolling water and leave 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon or spider into a prepared bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and cool. The peppers are much more tender and milder prepared this way.
Ingredients for stuffed peppers:
4-6 bell peppers, any color cleaned (you may blanch or not, works fine both ways)
1 pound ground meat of you choice, cooked, drained, and seasoned with salt and pepper
4 C. cooled cooked rice or macaroni of your choosing
2 C. cubed or shredded cheese of your choosing
3 C. crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato soup, spaghetti or taco sauce, your choice
salt, pepper, additional seasoning of your liking to taste
Set the peppers in an upright position in a baking dish so they are easy to fill. Leave a bit of space between the for extra filling.
Mix in a large bowl the meat, rice or pasta, half of the cheese, the tomatoes, and seasonings. Fill the peppers and push any extra filling between them. Pour any remaining juices over all and top with the last portion of cheese.
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| Frozen Stuffed Pepper Wrapped |
Top with a sheet of parchment paper and wrap the entire dish in heavy duty aluminum foil to form a tight seal, Freeze until needed. Or you may wrap individually if desired using plastic wrap.
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| Unwrapped frozen Pepper |
To bake preheat oven to 400 and leave the parchment resting atop the casserole for the first 45 minutes. Remove for the last 15 minutes. The casserole is done when heated through and bubbling.
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| Ready to Serve Stuffed Pepper Just from the Oven. |
Note: When I freeze single peppers I first wrap them in plastic wrap then foil.
I've never thought about freezing stuffed peppers! They are very expensive during the winter months so I'll stock up now and grow some next year. Thanks for the advice.
ReplyDeleteI have never had any problems with them. You can freeze all of the things you are using as ingredients so it works out fine. In fact now that I think about it I have even seen them frozen in the grocery by one of the big food names, like perhaps Stouffer's?
ReplyDeleteGood luck, just wrap them well. I tend to double wrap as no frost appliances tend to dry things out over the long term.