Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers 

 

I have never actually written this down before, it is just a recipe my mother taught me years ago that I now make without thinking. What I love about it so much is it's adaptability to what you have. It can be made with hamburger, ground turkey, sausage, ground chicken. A little bit goes a long way, making this an easy frugal recipe!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

prep a 13x9x2 casserole dish - I coat the sides and bottom with real butter to prevent sticking.

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cut 3 bell peppers in half and clean out stem and seeds. Place 6 halves into casserole dish.
In a bowl,  add:
2 lbs ground meat
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup oats (if using ground turkey-or chicken eliminate the oats as this will be too dry a mixture to hold)
2 eggs
seasonings - pinch of cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
(Other seasonings that are really good in it are  basil, oregano, green onion, minced garlic, chopped onions, chili seasoning,etc.)
Combine all ingredients in bowl, and form med sized  meat balls - stuffing 6 of them into the pepper halves and the remaining meatballs between the peppers into the casserole dish. I do this because some people do not like to eat the actual bell pepper, but the flavor of them still penetrates the whole dish.Everyone has options that way.
Fill the remaining spaces in the casserole with cleaned and cut potato and carrot wedges.
Top each stuffed bell pepper with a slice of bacon (if available - not necessary) .
Pour over all of it either 1 can of tomato soup, or a jar of homemade canned tomatoes -which is  my favorite-juice and all- and  cover pan with foil. Bake for 45 minutes, remove foil and cut into one of the meatballs to ensure done - no pink middles! if still pink put back in for additional 10 minutes and recheck.

That's it- additions to the casserole can include celery, onions, squash, whatever you feel would match the bell pepper taste. So easy- so versatile. And very filling! Serves at least 6-8. I usually have left overs.