Stuffed Peppers
Here is a from-scratch recipe that tastes just as great as it looks. Loaded with fresh vegetables, this recipe is a well balanced Dutch oven meal that you are sure to enjoy.
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef/pork/veal mix
2 Green bell peppers
2 Yellow bell peppers
2 Red bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib clelery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
½ teaspoon dried leaf basil
2 tsp Kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 28 oz can, diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can, tomato sauce
1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cups cooked long-grain rice
Shredded parmasan or mild Cheddar cheese, about ½ to ¾ cup, optional
Directions:
In a bowl, mix the meat, egg, cooked rice, spices and Worcestershire sauce until the mixture is smooth. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers, remove the seeds, rinse the peppers then stuff them with the meat/rice mixture and set them aside.
If outdoor cooking, preheat your Dutch oven using 24 lit charcoal briquettes placed beneath the Dutch oven. While the oven is heating, trim the pepper tops, removing any pepper from the stems, chop and set the trimmings aside. Discard the stems and seeds. Chop the onion, carrot and celery. Pour the olive oil into the preheated Dutch oven then add in the garlic to extract it's flavor, stirring to keep it from burning. Add in the onions, carrots and celery along with a pinch of Kosher salt and ground black pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent then add in the butter and the chopped pepper tops. Continue cooking to soften the peppers.
Next, add in the diced tomato and tomato sauce and stir well to mix the ingredients. Place the meat and rice stuffed peppers into the sauce, cover your Dutch oven and cook at 350° placing 10 briquettes beneath and 14 on top of your Dutch oven. After 30 minutes remove the lid and baste the peppers with the sauce and recover. After 15 more minutes remove the lid and cover the peppers with the shredded cheese. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes then remove from the heat and serve.
Serves 6