Friend of Julie: Stuffed Peppers

Craving something sweet? Stuffed red peppers to the rescue! I basically used my meatball recipe, but instead of rolling up the meatballs and cooking them all day in the crock pot, I stuffed them into peppers and dinner was ready in about an hour. Here's my yummy recipe.

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 4 large red bell peppers (or your favorite kind of bell pepper)
• 1 small jar of tomato sauce (or homemade tomato sauce)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 lbs ground beef 
• 6-8 cloves of fresh minced garlic (or garlic flakes or garlic powder)
• Fresh chopped basil (add enough to suit your taste)
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I use Progresso Italian Seasoned)

Directions

1. Cut the bell peppers in half length-wise and remove seeds and ends.
2. After cutting the peppers in half, find a baking dish all the peppers will fit into.
3. Cover the bottom of the dish with tomato sauce; the sauce doesn't have to be deep. I did not use the whole jar of sauce, but sometimes I do.
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
5. Add the ground beef, garlic, basil, and onions in the bowl with the eggs.
6. Add the breadcrumbs on top of all the other ingredients.
7. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together.
8. Stuff all of the meat mixture into the peppers and then place the peppers in the baking dish. You may top with more sauce. 
9. Cover or don't cover, they turn out delicious either way and the dish burns either way.
10. Bake at 400 degrees until the beef is cooked all the way through. I didn't watch the clock, but it was about an hour. I slice into a pepper to see if it's cook enough before serving.

 07/17/14 Update

 I made this recipe again last night for a friend and I cut this recipe in half. I served it yellow squash that I turned into noodles with my spirooli.

Same recipe, different day. Photo by Theresa.

Noodles made with yellow squash. Photo by Theresa.