The other night our Tennessee friend, Bill, told me he served Stuffed Bell Peppers for dinner, which made me think of the ones we recently fixed here at our house. I prefer using red bell peppers for this dish (and my husband likes the classic green version), but any color works well. Just don’t overcook them …. they’re much better when there’s some “crunch” left in the pepper.
4 large bell peppers (green, red, yellow or orange)
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 28-ounce can diced San Marzano tomatoes with juices
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, plus more to garnish
1 10.75-can condensed tomato bisque soup
Preheat oven to 350°. Wash peppers, cut in half and remove seeds and membrane; set aside. In a large skillet sauté beef with onions for 5 minutes or until beef is lightly browned; drain off excess fat. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in half the can of tomatoes and half of the tomato juice. Add the rice and Worcestershire sauce and stir to blend. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. Remove pan from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheese. Stuff each half-pepper with the beef-and-rice mixture, and place peppers open-side-up in a baking dish. (NOTE: Mound any remaining meat-and-rice mixture in the center of the pan to help support the stuffed peppers.) In a medium bowl combine the tomato soup with the remaining half-can of tomatoes and the remaining tomato juice; pour the mixture over and around the peppers, then sprinkle each pepper generously with more shredded cheese. Bake, covered with foil, 25-35 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly. — Serves 4