Stuffed Bell Peppers

A delicious bell pepper, stuffed with meat, rice, herbs and spices, cooked in a satisfying sauce consisting of freshly pureed tomatoes cooked with onion, carrots, spices, dry herbs, and cilantro until they reach perfection and are soft, served hot in a bowl with the sauce and a dollop of organic sour cream on top… Okay is your mouth watering yet? Lol. If I could, if I only could, I would probably eat this dish every single day, and never get tired of it! It is one of my most favorite things to eat, especially during fall and winter when it gets cold outside and I crave a warm homemade comfort food. I came up with this recipe all on my own. I knew what stuffed peppers consisted of, but I added my own zing to it and completely changed the entire recipe until I came up with this wonderfulness. This has got to be hands dowwwwwn the best recipe for stuffed bell peppers that you will ever try. I just made a big pot of these last week which we ate for 2 days in a row and now my husband is asking for me to make them again. Even my 2 1/2 year old son loved them, he calls it bell pepper soup lol. Well you have seen the pictures yourself, so do I really need to say more? That’s what I thought! 🙂

Stuffed Bell Peppers {Serves 4-6}

Ingredients:

1 LB Ground Beef
1 LB Ground Pork
7 Bell Peppers, medium sized (Any colors. I like to mix different colors for a pretty looking variety.)
1/2 Cup (Raw) Rice
5 Large Tomatoes
1 Large Onion
2 Large Carrots, or 3 Smaller ones
4-5 Cloves of Garlic
1 teaspoon of Vegeta seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of dry basil
3 Chicken Bullion Cubes
Garlic Powder to taste
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 Bay Leaves
1/2 Bunch of Cilantro
Fresh or Dry Dill
2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil (For Frying)

Directions:

1) Do the prep work first, this will make it a lot easier for you later on. Cook the 1/2 cup of rice, according to the instructions. Finely dice the onion and set it aside. Shred the carrots and set them aside. When the rice cooks, let it cool down a bit.

2) Put the ground beef and ground pork into a large bowl. Add the cooled rice to the bowl. Add the vegeta seasoning and Mrs.dash seasoning (or seasonings of your choice), add the dry basil, and garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Set the bowl aside.

3) In a large pan, heat 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium heat. Add the onion, then carrots. Cook until the onion and carrots are soft. Meanwhile, wash your tomatoes and put them all in a blender. Cut them into pieces so that they all fit in the blender. Blend them to a puree.

4) When the onions and carrots in the pan are soft, add the pureed tomatoes into the pan. Simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes then set aside on the stove. It turns from a pinkish red to a rich red color when it cooks (like pictured below).

5) When the tomato mixture is cooked, add 3/4 of a cup into the bowl with meat and spices. Mix the meat mixture well. Set the rest of the pan with the tomato mixture aside.

6) Cut out a hole in the middle of each bell pepper using a knife. Wash the peppers well inside and outside. Boil 2 Liters of filtered water in a tea kettle.

7) Then you can stuff each bell pepper with the meat mix. Stuff each bell pepper until it is full of meat. When you are done stuffing each bell pepper and have some meat mix left over you can add it to the top of each pepper, over stuffing it a little bit but not too much. Put the peppers in a large pot.

8) Pour the rest of the tomato mixture into the pot, on top of the bell peppers.

9) Pour the boiled water from the tea kettle into the soup. Covering almost all of the bell peppers. Cook the peppers on medium-high heat (I did a 7.5) until the peppers are cooked through, for about 40-45 Minutes. After 20 Minutes add in your bay leaves, then cut the chicken bullion cubes into small pieces and throw it into the pot, then finely cut the cilantro and add it to the pot. Mix well and in the last 10 minutes of cooking add the garlic either minced or through a garlic press, then add finely chopped dill and salt/pepper, vegeta, any other spices according to your taste preferences. *Sorry I forgot to take an after picture of how the bell peppers look in the pot when they are done!*