Stuffed peppers is a food invention that originated in the 1930s.
History
At that time, the average farmer was going through difficult economic times and needed to make the most of what they had to offer. So they started to make bell peppers available for sale before they had ripened. When peppers are green, they still contain a fair amount of anti-nutrients that would have been neutralized naturally over time, had they been allowed to remain on the vine until they’d turned into red peppers. Cooking also neutralizes anti-nutrients, so baking with meat turns a once-inferior food product into the perfect main dish.
Ingredients:
For health, use the best ingredients you can, such as those that are organic, home-grown, GMO-free, cage-free (in the case of eggs), wild-caught (in the case of fish), and grass-fed (in the case of meat).
- 4 bell peppers
- 1 bag brown rice
- 1 lb organic ground beef
- 2 8-oz cans organic tomato sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon salt
Directions:
- Wash peppers and slice off the tops.
- Remove the stem and seeds to create an opening, while keeping each pepper intact.
- Rinse out inside of peppers.
- Boil water in a large pot.
- Add peppers to boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add rice to boiling water and continue to boil peppers and rice for another 15-20 minutes, until rice is cooked and peppers are tender.
- While peppers and rice cook, brown ground beef and mix in salt and your favorite seasonings.
- Drain off excess fat when done and set aside.
- Drain rice and peppers and set peppers aside.
- Place rice into a large mixing bowl and add ground beef. Mix together.
- Set peppers upright in a large casserole or baking dish and add ground beef and rice mixture into each of the peppers.
- Pour tomato sauce over stuffed peppers and sprinkle cheese over the top of each pepper evenly.
- Bake the peppers for about 35 minutes at 375 degrees.
- Remove from oven, let cool about 3-5 minutes and serve!