Pizza Stuffed Peppers

All to often I have pull-open-the-fridge-what-do-I-have-for-supper moments. For reasons I truly can't understand, I've yet to be able to tackle regular meal planning. With my bent towards organization and order, this baffles me. However, the fact remains. Therefore, I frequently find myself flying by the seat of my pants for weeknight meals. Thus, this recipe came to be with ingredients I had on hand and in the time I had available.

Not only are stuffed peppers a lovely presentation, but they are tasty and nutritious. I used pizza seasoning and flavors as my inspiration; however, if you're the type of person who keeps pepperoni around, feel free to chop some up and add that to the filling for an even "pizzaier" flavor. Many of the measurements are approximate, so use this recipe as a guide to create your version of pizza stuffed peppers. If you want the filling, saucier, add more tomato sauce or jarred pasta or pizza sauce. If you want more meat than rice, or vice versa, increase accordingly. If you want more veggies, chop them up and cook with the meat. You get the idea. And, as I used mini peppers, I can't tell you exactly how many larger peppers you would need here, maybe 4 or 5?

I hope you enjoy this quick weeknight meal for a taste of a little something different!



PIZZA STUFFED PEPPERS
Print This Recipe


1 c. cooked brown or white rice
3/4 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 small can tomato sauce
1 tsp pizza seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
grated cheese of choice
Whole bell peppers, large or small, tops cut out and seeded
Prepared pasta or pizza sauce (opt.)

Cook rice according to package instructions.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

While rice is cooking, brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and chopped bell pepper and continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Mix in the cooked rice, tomato sauce, pizza seasoning, and garlic. Heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in as much grated cheese to suit taste.

Spoon mixture into prepared bell peppers and place them standing up in a lightly greased 8x8 baking pan. If you like, pour some prepared pasta sauce over the peppers and sprinkle with additional grated cheese.

Bake peppers for 20 minutes, or until the peppers are tender.