Green peppers are generally a welcome addition to a dish. I will admit that there are times when I’m not a fan but it’s a phase and I come around in a few weeks. Kris has always liked green peppers but prefers red ones; milder and sweeter.

This is a dish where the green peppers are obviously the star. Kris and I can both remember our mothers making them. After comparing notes, I’ve decided I like her mother’s better than mine although I often tweak it to Kris’ consternation.

I don’t remember watching Mom make stuffed green peppers but I remember eating them. They were quite good but always a little dry. The best I can remember she prepped ground beef with salt and pepper and probably some onion. There was maybe some ketchup in it but I don’t think so. She would stuff the peppers and bake them in a water bath until the meat was done, about 45 minutes or maybe an hour. As I said the meat was a little dry but the moist green pepper compensated.

Lucille, my mother-in-law, made what I think was a more traditional 1950s dish. She used a water bath as Mom did but she added tomato soup to moisten things. I don’t recall ever eating hers but Kris had a good recollection so I could reproduce it.

Be sure to choose nicely shaped peppers with flat bottoms so they stand up. I’m sure you could use other colored peppers. I’ve seen them in red peppers but I think the green ones provide a more robust flavor.

Stuffed Green Peppers for 4

4              green peppers with flat bottoms
½ c          onion, chopped
1 ½ lbs   ground beef
1 c           rice, leftover works great
1 can      condensed tomato soup
1 c           cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper

1. Cut the tops off the green peppers. Remove the seeds and pith being careful not the cut through the pepper. Dice up caps of the peppers.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 with a 8×8 or 9×9 pan half full of water.
3. Sauté the onion in oil. Add the ground beef and cook until almost done. Drain the fat.
4. Add the rice and diced pepper from the caps.
5. When everything is warmed through, add the tomato soup but no other liquid.
6. Fill the peppers half full and add ¼ cup of the cheese. Fill the peppers with the remaining meat mixture piling it up if necessary.
7. 6. Place gently in the pan of hot water and bake for 30 minutes or so.

Reflection #1: As I confessed above I often tweak recipes. Tonight I added rice and cheese. They both were good additions but not Kris’s classic favorite. She still liked it.

Reflection #2: The picture today is not very illustrative. It was a bad angle but we didn’t have a good backdrop to get a side view. Photos will get better but as I’ve said it isn’t a high priority.