These stuffed peppers with rice and mozzarella are easy to make and freeze well. For lunch, I just cut up the stuffed peppers and mix in some corn before I reheat.
Ingredients
- green bell peppers, tops and seeds removed (reserve tops): 6 piece
- salt: (to taste)
- ground beef: 1 pound
- onion: 0.5 cup (chopped)
- clove garlic: 1 piece (minced)
- tomatoes, chopped and liquid reserved: 1 can (16 ounce can)
- long-grain white rice: 0.5 cup
- water: 0.5 cup
- Worcestershire sauce: 1 tsp
- salt: 1 tsp
- dash hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco®): 1 piece (optional)
- pinch ground black pepper: 1 piece
- mozzarella cheese: 1 cup (shredded)
- tomato sauce: 1 can (8 ounce can)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Chop reserved green bell pepper tops. Measure out 1/4 cup and set aside.
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Bring a pot of water to a boil; cook whole green bell peppers in boiling water until slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and lightly season inside of bell peppers with salt. Set aside.
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Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef, onion, reserved 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper, and garlic in the hot skillet until ground beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
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Stir canned tomatoes and liquid, rice, water, Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, hot sauce, and black pepper into ground beef mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the skillet with a lid, and simmer until rice is tender, 15 to 18 minutes.
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Stir 3/4 of the mozzarella cheese and 3/4 of the tomato sauce into ground beef-rice mixture. Stuff bell peppers with ground beef-rice mixture; top each with remaining mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. Arrange peppers in a baking dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
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Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through and cheese is melted, 30 to 35 minutes.
