Growing up, I thought we were the only family who ate dishes like tuna casserole and stuffed peppers. And gush, too- goulash to everyone outside of our family. But I have come to find many of the dishes that we ate, most everyone else, particularly those who lived in the Midwest, ate them, too.
I made my mom’s stuffed bell peppers yesterday. I looked online and there are many other recipes just the same but I’m sharing it anyway (with a few modications). I have plans to change up the recipe; I’ve seen a variety of ways to update it like using quinoa instead of rice. However, yesterday I thought it would be best if I simply cooked it mostly as Mom did with one exception: I used the crock pot.
Try it, add some salsa or green chile if it’s too bland (my mom loved onions and spices, my dad was the bland one). But what I realized is that it’s an easy, filling meal you can make any time.
I also diced up six potatoes and dumped them into a bowl, mixing in several tablespoons of oil and added salt/pepper before baking them for about an hour at 425 degrees, turning out crispy baked potato bites.
Mom’s Stuff Peppers (with a few modications from me)
1 ½ pounds ground beef, the lower the fat content, the better
3 gloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup cooked rice
salt and pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup
4 – 6 bell peppers with the tops cup off and the seeds removed
Saute the onion and garlic until it’s somewhat “glassy.” Mix the rice, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and uncooked meat. Fill the peppers and stand them on end in the crock pot (mine fit five). Dilute the soup with ½ can of water, then pour the mixture over the peppers. Simmer for at least six hours over medium heat. Spoon and drizzle the liquid over the peppers occasionally as they cook. Dish is ready when the peppers are tender.
