Stuffed Peppers Greek Style

As the temperature cools down i love to serve my stuffed peppers and i do them the way my mom taught me, with rice, not bread crumbs.  There are options, for those who do not like garlic, it is not necessary, but i would add some feta cheese inside the pepper in its stead.

Stuffed Peppers Greek style

·       4 large green peppers

           make sure the bottoms are flat!

·       1 lb ground beef (or lamb)

          beef should have a minimum of 15% fat

·       2 large eggs

·       1 tablespoon oregano

·       1/2 teaspoon salt

·       3 cloves garlic, minced

·       1/2 onion, minced

·       6 basil leaves, chopped fine

·       1 cup half cooked rice, cooled

          make this using a 1 to one ratio of water to rice

·       olive oil

·       1/2 cup tomato sauce

·       1 small can tomato paste (or ketchup)

remove the stems and all seeds from the peppers

coat the outside of the peppers with olive oil

place upright in a 9 in x 9 in baking pan

(they should fit comfortably in the pan with out falling over)

mix the eggs, garlic, onion, oregano, salt, basil, tomato sauce and rice with the ground beef

stuff the peppers to just below the top of the opening with the meat mixture

cover the opening with tomato paste or ketchup

if using tomato paste - season it with additional oregano and salt and a bit of sugar

bake at 350 F for 1 hour

serve warm

doing something different

There are many thing i make that i will make over and over again the same way
and then something strikes me and i must change things up...
Today it was black beans and stuffed peppers.
They were done vegetarian style (the beans are actually vegan) because during Lent,
Wednesdays are a meatless day and Fridays are fish.
So the first dish is for black beans.

Vegetarian Black Beans

 

2 cups dry black beans

1 tablespoon toasted dry orange zest
1 teaspoon salt
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 cup celery, chopped
1 32 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
cooking oil

Soak the beans in cool water for at least 5 hours - water should be 2" over the top of the beans.

Drain beans and save the liquid.
In the cooking pot heat oil and then add onion and cook till just beginning to turn translucent.
Then add garlic, beans, celery and all the spices and continue to sauté for a few minutes (do not let the garlic brown!).
Add the liquid from the beans and the crushed tomatoes and 16 oz of water.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 3 hours.

the second was vegetarian stuffed green peppers:

Stuffed Peppers Vegetarian

3 large green bell peppers
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 onion, diced
1 cup celery, chopped
3 half inch slice of feta cheese
6 cloves garlic, minced
cooking oil

Cook the rice with all the seasonings except the feta cheese and make the rice slightly watery.

Fill the peppers half way with the rice mixture then add a chunk of Feta cheese.
Fill the pepper to the top with more rice.
Place in a baking dish with a bit of cooking oil and bake for 1 hour at 350 F.
 
Note: my recipe generally calls for 2 eggs in the rice mixture to bind it together, but i forgot it and it did not make a difference!