Stuffed Peppers & Baked Beans

*Ignore my weird spacing and font on this post - I am using Jason's laptop


These 2 recipes were from earlier this week and both from the Simply Recipes site that I've been frequenting. 


First off, some of "Dads Stuffed Peppers" - there was also a "Mom's Stuffed Peppers" which looked pretty good too.... but here's Dad's:

Dad's Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 4 bell peppers, any color (I made 3 and they were kind of squat)
• Salt
• 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (Wow! Don't need that much)
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb of lean ground beef (Ground Turkey, about 3/4 of a styrofoam flat package)
• 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice 
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (if using can, drain of excess liquid first) (I chopped fresh)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried oregano (dried)
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce (I didn't use this as it's not gluten free - at least my brand wasn't)
• Dash of Tabasco sauce (Louisiana Hot Sauce)

1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.

2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well. (You may find it easier to put the ingredients at this point into a large bowl and mix together with your hands.)

3 Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil inside the peppers. Arrange the cut side of the peppers up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed peppers is 150-160°F.

As I only had 3 smaller peppers, I put the remaining stuffing into a small loaf pan and covered with the ketchup sauce. It cooked for as long as the peppers did.

Next up, I made some "Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce" which I will be eating for the next few days!

Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce Recipe

Prep time: 1 hour

• Cook time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

If you want to save time, you can used canned beans instead of dry. Use 3 or 4 15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed and proceed to step 3. If you want a vegetarian version, skip the bacon, increase the olive oil, and use vegetable stock.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound dry cannellini, borlotti or Great Northern beans (3 cans)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 pound bacon or pancetta, roughly chopped (I didn't use this.. but would recommend you do!)
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh sage, minced (can sub fresh rosemary) (I only had dried sage)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chile flakes (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 2 cups beef or chicken stock (use gluten-free stock for gluten-free version)
• Salt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

METHOD

(I didn't add the bacon but here's the directions as posted on the website. I also do not have a heavy-bottomed pot so I dumped it all into a casserole dish before going in the oven)

1 Pre-soak the beans, either by covering with two inches of water and soaking overnight, or by pouring boiling water over them and soaking them for an hour.

2 Drain the beans and put them in a medium-sized pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook until the beans are just soft enough to eat, about 1 hour, give or take 15 minutes or so, depending on how old the beans are (older beans will take longer to cook).

3 Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a 3 or 4 quart heavy-bottomed, oven-proof, lidded pot such as a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bacon or pancetta and cook slowly until lightly browned and crispy.

4 Add the chopped onions and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often, until the onions begin to brown. Use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

5 Add the garlic, chile flakes and sage and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the honey and tomato paste. Stir well to combine. Add the tomatoes or tomato sauce and the stock. Bring to a simmer. Taste for salt and add some if needed.

6 Drain the beans and add them to the pot. Stir well. Cover the pot and cook in the oven for an hour and fifteen minutes. If still a bit wet, remove the cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Note that the cooking time will depend on several things, the most important being how thoroughly the beans were cooked to begin with when they were simmered. If they are still a bit hard when they go in the oven, it may take several hours to soften them, once the tomato and honey have been added.

7 Right before serving, gently stir in the chopped parsley and balsamic vinegar. Taste for salt, add more if needed to taste.

Serve either hot or at room temperature.

These were both great recipes - Jason gave the peppers a 10/10! The beans make ALOT... would be good for a large family dinner or potluck. I loved the addition of balsamic vinegar and could really taste it.