GeezBlog

Our favorite spin on this old standard:

Not the typical floating-in-tomato-sauce version.  That’s not bad… this is better 🙂

• 4 red or yellow bell peppers.  Green if you like but they are just unripe colored peppers and can be bitter.
• 1/2 cup of uncooked rice.  White or brown.  We’ve used white so far.
• 2 carrots peeled and chopped.
• 1 onion minced.
• 2-6 garlic cloves minced.
• 1 tsp chili powder.
• 1/2 lb lean ground beef.
• 2 tomatoes cored and chopped – seeded if you must…
• 1/4 cup chicken broth.
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
• 1 tbsp lemon juice.
• 1 seeded and minced jalapeno – for flavor, not heat. Optional.
• Some might add 1 tbsp of tomato paste and 2 tbsp of minced parsley.  We don’t.

It helps if the peppers, onion, carrots, jalapeno, tomatoes, and garlic come straight from your garden.  If not, make do @ the super 😉

Trim the tops off the peppers, seed and core.  Submerge in boiling salted (1 tbsp or so) water to cover and cook until they just start to soften.  Maybe 5 minutes.  Remove, drain, and let cool.

Bring the water to a boil again, add rice, cook until tender, drain and transfer to your working bowl.

Saute the carrots, onion, and jalapeno (if using) in olive oil until they start to soften.  Add garlic, tomato paste (if using), and chili power and cook another 30 seconds or so.  Don’t scorch the garlic.

Add the ground beef and cook while breaking it up until all is just browned through.  Add tomatoes and chicken broth and cook until the tomatoes start to break down.

Add the beef mixture to the rice in your working bowl along with the chicken broth, lemon juice, parsley (if using), 3/4 cup of the cheese, salt and pepper to taste.  Mix thoroughly.

Dry the inside of the peppers, fill with the mixture, top with the rest of the cheese, and place in a suitably-sized baking dish (so they don’t fall over…).  Bake in a pre-heated 350F oven until heated through.  30 minutes or so.

Enjoy 🙂

One of my favorites, especially now when the garden provides potatoes, onions, and peppers.  Goes great with grilled chicken, ribs, whatever floats your boat.

I’ll skip the measurements…

Spuds – chopped/diced/sliced per your whim – raw fried in olive oil.

When they’re ~ 5 minutes from done toss in chopped/diced/sliced sweet bell pepper and chopped/diced/sliced onion and turn the heat down a little.

I sometimes add garlic but be careful – it can scorch.  The other day I did include some jalapeno with the bell pepper for a little added interest.  Delish 🙂

A minute or so from done I like to sprinkle in some cumin and paprika.

Once it hits my plate I usually top with grated Parmesan cheese and salt + pepper.

[edit to add] Make a one-skillet meal out of it:  add chopped spinach, cabbage, or kale then with the heat turned down make pockets and (gently) crack some eggs into them.  (There’s no rule that says it couldn’t involve some bacon or sausage 😉 )

Enjoy 🙂