Stuffed Bell Peppers

A lot of people (including us) use rice in stuffed peppers, but this recipe doesn’t call for rice.  The Duxelles, eggs and fresh bread crumbs are what binds it together and keeps it moist.  Sometimes we also add golden raisins to this recipe, but tonight we didn’t happen to have any on hand.  What do you add to your stuffed peppers? 

Ingredients

6 medium bell peppers (any color)

5 large mushrooms, chopped & cooked into Duxelles (seerecipe on this blog)

1 lb. ground beef

½ lb. ground country sausage (we make our own, but that’s another story)

½ medium onion, chopped                                                                                                                            1 cup cooked wild rice (optional)    

1 tbl. fresh parsley, chopped (or ½ tbl. dried parsley if you HAVE to)

½ tbl. fresh marjoram, chopped (again, dried if you have to)

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp. garlic powder

2 tbl. grated parmesan cheese

1 cup fresh bread crumbs, coarsely grated (do not use the dry kind you buy at the store)

1 egg

4 thick slices of cheddar cheese

8 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced

Directions

·         Prepare the Duxelles (see our recipe on this blog)

·         Mix ground beef and sausage together in a bowl

·         Add onions, parsley, marjoram, black pepper, salt, garlic powder and parmesan cheese, and mix well. Add wild rice and mix again (if using)

·         Whisk the egg in a separate bowl, then add it to the meat mixture.  Mix well again.

·         Add the Duxelles, and mix well again (we use a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, but you can do this by hand)

·         Cover and refrigerate until ready for stuffing.  Meanwhile, clean up your dishes!

·         Core the peppers, taking as little off the top as possible (see photo below)

Take as little off the top as possible when coring and seeding the peppers.

·         Carefully remove the seeds and membrane using a spoon

·         Par-boil the peppers for about 3 minutes, until almost tender, remove and drain upside-down

·         Heat oven to 350°

·         Using a spoon, stuff the meat mixture into the peppers

·         Cut the cheddar cheese slices into triangular wedges and push into the peppers (see photo below)

Cheddar cheese wedges stuffed into the peppers.

·         Top each pepper with the sliced cherry peppers, and they're ready for the oven!

 ·         Place the stuffed peppers in a baking pan and add ¼ cup of water or broth to the bottom of the pan

·         Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake at 350° for about 20 minutes

·         Remove the foil and continue baking for another 60 minutes

·         Serve hot (goes great with rice or potatoes on the side).  Serves 4 to 6 people.

The finished product.  Yum!