Recipe(tried): Italian Style Stuffed Peppers

Hi Verla, this was always my favorite stuffed pepper recipe. When you look at it, you wonder how it could be all that great. I don’t know really – it just is very tasty. It came from a woman I worked with years ago who claimed she was not a cook but I argued with her. While I love pastas and rice, I prefer not having them in stuffed peppers. I think that’s what originally appealed to me about the recipe. I also like the fact that you cut these peppers in half, making them easier to handle, and there is no need to par-boil them.

Italian Style Stuffed Peppers

This is one of those recipes where you adjust quantities as needed, depending on how many peppers you have.

Cut large peppers in half lengthwise – clean and salt the insides.

Brown lean ground beef (I use sirloin), finely-chopped onions and parsley (I use dry when I don’t have fresh). I think it is better to chop the ground beef as fine as possible as you saute it. After browning beef, add salt to taste. Let mixture cool.

After meat mixture has cooled, add Italian bread crumbs and one egg (you may need two eggs, depending on quantity of beef you start with). Stuff pepper halves. It’s nice to try to use a wooden spoon to do this, but the best way is just to pack the mixture in the peppers with your fingers! The original recipe says, after stuffing, to brown them on both sides. I don’t do this, mainly because no matter how tightly I pack in the stuffing, I lose some when turning them over (in part from a crowded pan). I usually fill a large frying pan and brown the bottoms slightly before pouring a jar of marinara sauce over all (not really necessary to brown the bottoms either). Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Enjoy!

Just as a guideline, I’d say if you start with one pound of ground beef, add cup chopped onion and cup chopped parsley. One egg should be enough for one pound but, any more, and I’d add two. Italian bread crumbs? Maybe a half a cup or so. I’d use at least a 26-oz. jar of marinara but you don’t want the sauce to be skimpy. You want enough sauce so the peppers can simmer nicely in it.