The green bell peppers are now ready for harvesting! They get cut up to go in so many different dishes, but the way I like them best is stuffed. My grandmother used to make stuffed peppers for my dad and then my mom made them. It’s an old-fashioned dish that I reinserted into my repertoire last summer when I found a great supply of green peppers at a nearby farm.
After some great food discussions with some friends who also happen to be our neighbors, we were invited to their house for a dinner party. Lisa made some delicious pigs-in-a-blanket using her grandmother’s recipe. Eric is a big fan of stuffed cabbage while I have less fond memories of it from my youth. Lisa’s stuffed cabbage was awesome! She willingly gave me the recipe when I asked for it. I wanted to try the filling from Lisa’s cabbage rolls in a stuffed pepper recipe. I had the impression that it would be amazing. I was right!
I developed this updated version of a stuffed pepper from a few different recipes. It reminds me of my Italian roots with some of Lisa’s Polish roots thrown in with a hint of Greek for good measure!
Stuffed Peppers (serves 4)
Ingredients
- 4 green bell peppers
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 link Italian sweet sausage
- ½ large onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup cooked rice
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 can tomato soup
- 4 tablespoons feta cheese
Cut the top off of the peppers, cleaning them out by removing the seeds and membrane. Reserve and chop any green parts of the pepper from the tops. Put the whole peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the peppers from the water and turn them upside down on paper towels to dry. (The peppers can also be halved instead of left whole, if desired.)
Saute the onions & green pepper.
Saute the onion and chopped green pepper in a few tablespoons of olive oil, adding the garlic as the onion finishes. Add the ground beef and the sausage filling which has been removed from the casing, to the onion, pepper & garlic.
Brown the ground beef and chopped sausage meat.
Saute it all together until the ground beef & the sausage filling are cooked through. Add the cooked rice, salt, pepper & oregano.
The cooked rice and seasonings get added to the ground beef.
Stir it well to combine, then taste and add more seasonings if necessary. Add the can of undiluted tomato soup and the egg and mix well.
Tomato soup and the beaten egg complete the mixture.
Spoon the meat mixture into the drained peppers and place them in a greased 9 x 9 or 9 x 13 baking dish if you are using halved peppers. (With only 2 of us here to eat these, I usually freeze half of the peppers at this point for future meals. Tightly wrap each filled pepper in plastic wrap then put them in freezer safe bags for freezing. The peppers should be thawed in the refrigerator prior to baking. ) Sprinkle each filled pepper with 1 tablespoon of feta cheese.
A touch of feta on the top and it’s ready for the oven!
Bake the covered peppers for 25 minutes at 350°. Remove the foil and bake the peppers for an additional 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately.
A well-balanced bite!
Good food never goes out of fashion! ~Linda
Stuffed Peppers (serves 4)
Ingredients
- 4 green bell peppers
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 link Italian sweet sausage
- ½ large onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup cooked rice
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 can tomato soup
- 4 tablespoons feta cheese
Cut the top off of the peppers, cleaning them out by removing the seeds and membrane. Reserve and chop any green parts of the pepper from the tops. Put the whole peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the peppers from the water and turn them upside down on paper towels to dry. (The peppers can also be halved instead of left whole, if desired.)
Saute the onion and chopped green pepper in a few tablespoons of olive oil, adding the garlic as the onion finishes. Add the ground beef and the sausage filling which has been removed from the casing, to the onion, pepper & garlic.
Saute it all together until the ground beef & the sausage filling are cooked through. Add the cooked rice, salt, pepper & oregano.
Stir it well to combine, then taste and add more seasonings if necessary. Add the can of undiluted tomato soup and the egg and mix well.
Spoon the meat mixture into the drained peppers and place them in a greased 9 x 9 or 9 x 13 baking dish if you are using halved peppers. (With only 2 of us here to eat these, I usually freeze half of the peppers at this point for future meals. Tightly wrap each filled pepper in plastic wrap then put them in freezer safe bags for freezing. The peppers should be thawed in the refrigerator prior to baking. ) Sprinkle each filled pepper with 1 tablespoon of feta cheese.
Bake the covered peppers for 25 minutes at 350°. Remove the foil and bake the peppers for an additional 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately.