Stuffed Bell Peppers

I found this recipe searching on the internet – can’t remember where I got it! It’s been modified from the original.

Thanks, Mary, for reminding me where this came from!  My favorite food blogger ... www.DeepSouthDish.com 


4 large bell peppers
¼ c. EACH onion, bell pepper & celery
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground Italian sausage (I use HOT)
2 cloves garlic
2 c. tomato sauce
1 cup cooked rice
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. Tony Chachere’s
½ c. water
1 can Rotel tomatoes (or petite diced tomatoes)
1-2 Tbsp. panko bread crumbs
Grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the peppers lengthwise and scrape out seeds and ribs. Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop the pepper halves in allowing to parboil for only 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Saute onion, celery and bell pepper in 1 Tbsp. olive oil and stir in tomato sauce. Cook for 15 minutes. Set aside until needed. Can substitute 2 (8 ounce) regular tomato sauce if needed.

In a large skillet, saute 2 Tbsp. onion in 1 Tbsp. olive oil until tender. Remove the sausage from the casing and add it and the ground beef to the skillet; cook until browned, breaking up into small pieces. Drain well if needed. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add ½ cup of the tomato sauce, reserve the remaining sauce. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until sauce is heated through. Stir in rice, salt, pepper, and Tony’s seasoning. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Pour ½ cup of water into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and place peppers in the dish. Scoop the beef and rice mixture evenly into each pepper half, topping each off until you use all of the filling.

Mix the Rotel tomatoes with the remaining tomato sauce, and spoon evenly over the tops of each pepper and sprinkle each with bread crumbs. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until peppers are tender and filling is heated through. Remove, add cheese to top, and return to oven until cheese melts.