Stuffed green peppers

This is a family favorite, as well as being a polarizing food. Some people hate the idea of a green pepper stuffed with rice and meat, and well that's just fine. Their loss. However, I don't know how to resist them.

So here we go. Please forgive the mildly photoshopped ingredients pic.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01133.JPG

• Green bell peppers (2)

• Ground beef (1/2 pound)

• Tomato sauce (2 cans)

• Diced onions

• Leftover rice

• Cheese (cheddar or american)

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01134.JPG

The first step is to wash the outsides of the peppers. Don't be too thorough about it; we're going to be boiling and cooking them later.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01135.JPG

If green bell peppers are a scary mystery to you, here's how you de-seed and wash one. First, take a seraded knife and run it around the "crown" at the top. You're basically cutting a big hole in the top.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01136.JPG

Pop out the crown. If you're good at it, you get most of the seeds out along with it. But I'm not, so no pictures of that!

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01137.JPG

Here's what they look like on the inside. Ugly little buggers, huh? Take a spoon and dig out the rest of the seeds, also scooping out most of the greenish-white flesh with it. Doing this under running water makes it much easier.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01139.JPG

When you're done, you should have something that looks like this. Don't worry about the gaping holes in the bottom ... hopefully our stuffing will be thick enough that leakage won't be a problem.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01143.JPG

Place them into a pot of boiling water, making sure the water covers the tops of the pepper pieces. You'll cook these until they're tender, or until you can stick a fork in them easily.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01140.JPG

Meanwhile, put a pan under medium fire and add some ground beef. Here I'm grabbing about a half pound. Assume about 1/8 pound of beef per pepper piece.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01141.JPG

They may seem shy right now, but very soon these two ingredients will be warming up to each other. :v:

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01142.JPG

Brown the beef. Since I used ground round, there wasn't much grease to drain. But if you use cheaper meat, you will definitely have to do this. Don't burn yourself goddamnit, I will not pay your hospital bills.

Since the meat is done, I guess it's about time to start adding our other ingredients. But it'd be nice to have some robotic help.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01145.JPG http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01150.JPG

Okay, maybe not so robotic. But it sure is fun to watch this little thing "eat" the lid off of a can.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01147.JPG

Pour only half of your tomato sauce into the beef.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01148.JPG

Add diced onions to taste (I had some in the freezer, pre-diced in a bag). Then, add your day-old rice. Add just enough to soak up the liquid, ensuring that you have a thick stuffing, and not a sauce.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01149.JPG

...About like this. I added a handful more rice after this picture. Just make sure not to have gloopy, runny stuffing.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01143.JPG

The peppers are cooking nicely. It will take at least ten minutes for them to be done. How do you tell? When sticking them with a fork, it should almost be like poking air. When that's done, take the same fork and scoop them out onto a greased baking dish.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01154.JPG

For the love of god, don't try draining the pot with the peppers inside. You're going to scald yourself with scalding pepper-juice, and that's a horrible reason to have scars. You can't exactly score chicks with cooking injuries. (Believe me, I've tried)

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01155.JPG

Fill the soft, delicate peppers with your stuffing.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01156.JPG

Add cheese to the top. Again, no measurements, just sprinkle it out of the bag.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01157.JPG

Now, pour the last half of your tomato sauce over the peppers. Spread it out with the bottom of a spoon, covering every delicious inch.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01158.JPG

Stick it all into a preheated 350 F oven for 30 minutes.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01161.JPG

Thirty minutes is plenty of time to make side dishes, like a salad or something. Your comrades will note your efficiency.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01162.JPG

When your timer goes off, get them out and marvel at them for a bit.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01163.JPG

Serve with a spatula and add more cheese! The peppers should now be soft enough that you can get by cutting them with just a fork.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01165.JPG

Enjoy! Serves 2-3 people.

All in all, it's a pretty cheap meal. Peppers cost around a dollar each. Ground beef is a couple bucks, and the rice and tomato sauce are practically free. I suppose the onion and cheese would be the hardest ingredients to come by, but they're not even necessary.

This dish is also very easy to make and modify. Like meatloaf or stew, it's all in knowing the basic techniques. Modify it however you wish, you can't really screw it up.

http://www.leifstarbuck.com/peppers/DSC01166.JPG

After eating, you will likely be told to do the dishes. Son of a bitch...