A Classic!

While I love summer, my favorite season is fall.  I love the cool air of fall, the leaves turning, the pumpkins . . . all of that.  I especially love cooking heartier meals that only seem appropriate in the fall and winter.  So as soon as the cool weather comes, I start planning to make some of my favorites that I haven't had since March.

And what was one of the first meals that I made?

Stuffed peppers!  Always a classic.  And kind of a good transitional meal since you can use peppers from your garden (if you have any left).  What I love about stuffed peppers is the fact that you can stuff them with anything.  In the past I have used couscous, chicken, sausage, rice, and ground turkey - not all together though!  But this time, I just made it the way my mom made it.  I consider this the classic way.  How do you make stuffed peppers?

Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
4 green or red bell peppers, tops taken off and seeds and ribs removed
olive oil cooking spray
1 lb ground sirloin
salt, pepper, onion flakes and oregano to taste
2 C brown or white rice
jarred pasta sauce
parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Slightly soften the bell peppers by sticking them in the microwave.  (AFC note: It took me about three to four 30 sec increments to soften 3 green peppers.  Work in small time increments so you don't overcook.) 
Spray a large skillet with olive oil spray and add the ground sirloin and spices to taste.  Brown over medium high heat.  Meanwhile, cook the rice.

When the rice is done, add it to the browned ground sirloin and stir in enough pasta sauce to coat the rice and beef.  If you want your beef mixture to be saucy, just add more sauce!

Line your topless peppers up in a baking dish (AFC note: I used a loaf pan) and fill each pepper up with the beef mixture.  If you have extra beef mixture (like I did), you can put it in the bottom of the dish around the peppers. 

Top the beef mixture with some extra sauce.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Devour!!