Stuffed Peppers

Last night I had some bell peppers looking sad and tired in the back of my produce drawer. What to do, what to do?

I found a little ground beef in the freezer and some other goodies laying about and made a pretty respectable stuffed pepper with I had available. Here is the recipe, ENJOY:

Stuffed Peppers

4 large bell peppers-tops and seeds removed

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Lb. ground beef, pork, or turkey (or a mix thereof)

1 shallot (or a small onion) diced

1 clove garlic-crushed

1 14oz. can tomato sauce

1 cup leftover cooked rice

1 Tbs. each fresh chopped basil, oregano, and thyme (or 1 Tbs. dried Italian seasoning)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the prepared peppers into a glass or non stick baking dish. In an large saute pan over medium heat saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent and just starting to brown (about 4 minutes). Add the garlic and cook a minute or two, just until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the meat and brown. Then add the tomato sauce, herbs, and rice. Cover and cook 7-10 minutes until the mixture thickens up a bit. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese and salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the peppers and roast in the over at 450F for 15-20 minutes-until the peppers begin to 'blacken'. Serve as soon as possible.

NOTE: these pepper can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Just store in the fridge after cooking. They reheat beautifully in the microwave!