Stuffed Peppers

There is something so satisfying about a good stuffed pepper. This recipe is inspired by the stuffed peppers my mom would make for me and my sister growing up. The key ingredient is steak sauce, giving this stuffed pepper a delicious, tangy flavor.

In my opinion, the only acceptable side dish for these stuffed peppers is a generous helping of buttery mashed potatoes. This is winter comfort food at its finest. Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

• 4 bell peppers (any color works), cut in half lengthwise, seeds and core removed

• 1 lb. ground beef

• 1 cup short grain brown rice, cooked

• 1 28oz. can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes

• 3 tablespoons of steak sauce (I used the Whole Foods brand organic steak sauce)

• 1.5 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• A few grinds of black pepper

How to Make:

In a large frying pan, cook and brown the ground beef on the stovetop over medium-high heat. As the meat cooks, add in the smoked paprika, garlic powder, parsley, salt, and pepper.

I decided to cook the meat a day ahead to make dinner prep a little easier. You can choose to cook the rice ahead of time too, making for an easy weeknight meal.

Cook the rice according to the package instructions. Measure out 1 cup of the cooked rice and add it into a large bowl with the cooked beef. Mix well.

Pour in about half of the crushed tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of steak sauce. Mix until well combined.

Next, preheat your oven to 350. As you wait for the oven to heat up, prepare your bell peppers: Wash them, then cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the core of the pepper and all the seeds. Arrange your bell pepper halves in a baking dish of your choice.

Stuff each pepper generously with the meat, rice and tomato mixture. If you love a saucy stuffed pepper as much as I do, pour the remainder of the crushed tomatos (with an extra tablespoon of steak sauce) on top of the stuffed peppers.

Bake the peppers at 350 for 1 hour, until the peppers are tender. Serve with mashed potatoes (trust me - you won’t regret this choice) and enjoy!

Recipe Variations:

• Swap out the ground beef for a different protein, such as ground turkey.

• Make it vegetarian! Rice, black beans, and corn would make for a tasty stuffed pepper.

• Experiment with other types of grains, such as quinoa, farro, or cous cous.