Sometimes you plan for dinner and sometimes you dig in the fridge and freezer and see what you can make up! (The later happens at my house more often than not or at least more often than I’d like to admit.) So to keep up with my unfortunate habit, I usually keep my “pantry” stocked with staples that turn any meal in to magic. And, because my husband loves the white things on his plate most, that usually involves a trip to my rice shelf. With an iron skillet or crockpot, a protein and some rice, you can turn a dinner that was going to be an afterthought into a….I was going to say work of art, but who cares what it looks like when it tastes good?!?!
Sure, there are a bajillion version of stuffed bell peppers on the interwebs and in your dusty cookbooks on your shelf. Your grandma probably has a version that she cooked when you were little and your college roommate just discovered this delectable delight to wow the hungry, post recess and workday mouths at her table. Below is Mrs. McKinney’s version when she is desperate to clean out some items in the fridge and still make the hubby, who likes a hearty meal, happy.
Keisha McKinney; Stuffed Bell Peppers {National Rice Month}
Ingredients
- 4 bell pepper
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ cup frozen seasoning blend (onions and friends) minced garlic
- 1 tomato, small diced or 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups cooked Riceland rice (leftover is fine!)
- 1 jar pizza sauce or tomato/marinara sauce
- 3 T spicy ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, bring enough water to cover peppers to a boil. Place peppers in boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Immediately remove from water and drain.
- Set on a plate or paper town to rest.
- Keep enough water to cook rice as directed on back of bag and pour out rest.
- Pour water in a smaller saucepan and bring water back to a boil. Salt water and pour in rice. Cook as described on package. (I use a quick cooking rice. If you are using a brown rice or different kind, you will need to include prep time for the rice to cook)
- Brown ground beef. Set aside on a paper towel lined plate to drain excess fat.
- In pan with meat drippings, brown onions/seasoning blend with a little minced garlic.
- Once onions are translucent, add tomatoes and stir together. If using canned tomatoes, cook until most of sauce has reduced.
- In a small bowl, stir together pizza sauce, ketchup and Worcestershire.
- Season to preference.
- Remove vegetable mixture from heat and stir in rice, browned meat, and half of pizza sauce mixture.
- Stir all together and fill inside of bell peppers with meat mixture. Use mixture evenly between 4 peppers.
- Top with remaining pizza sauce mixture.
- Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Some prefer to top theirs with cheese while it bakes, you make the call!
- Serve immediately.
BONUS
And, if you didn’t think a recipe was enough of a tip today, here’s something that might help your sanity and save some clean up. Use a muffin tin to bake your stuffed pepper. Stand them up in the little muffin holes and bake them just as you would in a glass dish. I even threw in some chocolate pumpkin muffins around my peppers and dessert cooked at the same time! #multitasking
Enjoy your evening, round off your plate with something green, and unpack the day together around your favorite dinner table spot!
Our reigning “Arkansas Rice Queen,” Keisha (Pi
ttman) McKinney is settling in to her new married life in South AR after she #becamemrsmckinney. A Digital Media Director by day for a church in Northwest Arkansas, Keisha is remembering what its like to plan ahead for shopping trips to “the city,” getting resourceful at her small town Walmart and creating online shopping personas everywhere. She blogs @bigpittstop about daily adventures, cooking escapades, #bigsisterchats and the social justice cases on her heart.
Love the stuffed pepper “muffin” idea, Keisha! Way to go!
Also love to eat rice! <3