Meaty Cheesy Stuffed Peppers

I’m a rice-aholic. Throw some cheese in there and I’m the happiest girl in the world. So I came up with these awesome stuffed peppers, filled to the brim with rice, meat and cheese. They are not only beautiful to look at, but quite satisfying to eat.

 

Some people cook their peppers, or blanch them, before freezing, and please feel free to do so. I don't bother with step and I’ve never been disappointed with the results. Some recipes also call for you to freeze them in the tomato sauce. I don't like this approach. I find that the peppers come out mushy and the tomato sauce becomes watery. Instead I individually wrap my peppers, and freeze my tomato sauce in ice cube trays. When I’m ready to make one, I grab a cube of tomato sauce and 1 stuffed pepper and cook.

 

This is such an easy dish to make and the amount can be altered to the amount you want to make quite easily. It pairs well with my fire roasted tomato sauce, which I’ll post later today.

 

Meaty Cheesy Stuffed Peppers

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 lbs. ground meat

1 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried basil (can use fresh if you have it)

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 cup cooked brown rice

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, plus extra to put on top

Salt and pepper to taste

4 large bell peppers

 

In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Once heated, add the onions and cook until slightly brown. Add the ground meat and brown completely. Drain off excess fat. Put the meat onion mixture back in the skillet and add the cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, cayenne, paprika, stir and cook for 1 minute. Shut off the heat and add the rice and cheese. Mix together set aside to slightly cool. Grab your bell peppers and cut in half, right through the stem so each pepper has a half of the stem (this is decorative, not a necessity. then using a spoon scoop out all the seeds and ribs. Rinse under warm water to make sure all the seeds are out. Now the fun part. I use my hands but you can use a large spoon, pack the rice mixture into each half of the pepper. I add a slice of mozzarella on top of each pepper, but you can use shredded, or none at all. Then individually wrap and freezer flat. Once they're all frozen, I place them all in a Ziploc bag. Label and date.

To reheat: I find it is best in the oven. Unwrap the amount you want to heat. Pour some tomato sauce on top and place in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to turn brown.