Oh no. I thought this was the cooking forum. Just saw that.

That's OK we do recipes here all the time. I love them. I even get the frozen ones for lunch on occasion. Have you done a search on pinterest for stuffed bell peppers? You can even say no tomatoes..

I always par boil peppers for just a few minutes to help soften them up before filling and baking. You can cut them long ways into boats so one pepper is cut into 2 sections and might be better for first time trying them or you can cut off the top and clean out the seeds and ribs and stuff like a cup. Either way drop into boiling water for 5 minutes remove, drain, then stuff. I don't always use tomatoes. I sometimes use a rice a ronie mix, cook as directed on the box, separately cook ground beef with some diced onion and garlic and diced fresh mushrooms, if you don't like any of these just skip it, drain when beef is browned add the rice mix to the ground beef mix, stir well to mix. Stuff peppers with the mixture. I top them with grated cheese or sliced pepper jack for a spicy kick. Your choice of cheese, put in a baking dish sprayed with oil, cook at about 350 for 20 to 30 minutes. If you want to use just a little tomato you can add a few pieces of diced tomatoes on top when done especially ifif you don'tdon't like cooked tomatoes.

That's just one method I have used.

Cajun friend shared one of his Cajun stuffed bell peppers with me, soooooo good. Had a kick to it, of course!

I just saw a Cajun version on pinterest made with shrimp and smoked sausage. There's some great ideas on pinterest. I saw one stuffed with roasted diced vegetables, I would love that plus it's vegetarian.

I didn't even think of Pinterest. Thanks. I took the idea of black bean, corn, quinoa or rice (not sure yet), spices, onion with melted goat cheese on top. This sounds pretty safe for the kids. Mushrooms are too risky at this point. Cooked peppers will be enough for them. I think I will try the cajun one too. Thanks for the input. Looks like I won't even need to go to the cooking forum. I'm set.

This is probably pretty close to the recipe you ate as a child.

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS (serves 4)
2 large green peppers
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup uncooked instant rice
8 oz can tomato sauce, divided
2 TBL chopped onion
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBL grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
Dash of pepper

Cut peppers in 1/2 lengthwise & remove seeds. Combine meat, rice, 1/4 cup tomato sauce & remaining ingredients. Stuff peppers with mix & place in a greased baking dish. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over stuffed peppers & then sprinkle w/additional Parmesan. Cover & bake in a preheated 350° oven for 50-60 minutes.~~ You can mix mozzarella or cheddar into the meat mixture as well. From By Special Request

Certainly not for Easter, but my WW2 recipe ( we often could not buy meat) wasn't too bad. Stuff them with canned corned beef hash with a dollop of catsup on top. I lived with two other girls and we took turns cooking. We had ration coupons for meat but often when we got to the store after our long day's work the meat was gone. We had an icebox--no refrigerators were being made, so couldn't buy ahead on a weekend. We ate many "whatever we could find" meals and survived quite well.

Love stuffed peppers and make them about like ginger_st_thomas, except I put diced tomatoes in them and cook the instant rice first. I need to make some and freeze them for quick dinners!

I make taco stuffed peppers and lasagna stuffed peppers. (google the recipes, very easy to find). But, I just started making them this past year. Until then, I had never had a stuffed pepper. I can't believe my mom never made them. She was a wonderful cook!

Yeah, we don't have conventional Easter dinners/lunches. Good to know I can freeze them! Would I cook them first or would I just stuff them and freeze right away?

Seniorgal, there must be a lot of stories from that time. I feel so guilty when I let food go to waste. I try my best.

I love good stuffed peppers. I don't pre-cook them -- I think they're better with some crunch. I do pre-cook the stuffing -- ground beef, pork or whatever, along with onions and whatever veggies I want to chop up and throw in. I don't use tomato usually -- and I find they taste better without the rice - for starch, maybe a little chopped up sweet potato. Spices depend on the mood for the moment, and what veggies and meat I am adding. I could also see making them vegetarian by using lentils.

ah, memories. really bad memories... my mother made stuffed peppers too often in my chidhood, absolutely disgusting, but when you needed to cheaply feed five kids, they were on the menu . i could barely choke them down, but had no choice ("waste not, want not" parental philosophy). my mother took a handful of ground beef, slapped it - just plain, no other ingredients - into the pepper, baked it and that was it. totally dry meat flavored with slimy green pepper... oh, gag. blechhh. it still gives me shudders to think of them. =(

Here in our area peppers are expensive right now, $1.98 a piece. Hoping the price comes down. We prefer to make stuffed cabbage instead.

I don't precook the peppers, just the rice and add whatever spices I want. Also add a little hot pepper for some kick. I bake two or three at a time, then freeze a couple for a quick meals later. Also use the tomato juice in the bottom of the pan. Sometimes if just making one pepper, I make meatballs from the rest of the mixture, bake along side the pepper and freeze For later. Cooking for just one now so like to have something handy in the freezer! :)

roxanna....I used to feel that way about squash as a kid, just couldn't stand to eat it, but love it now!

A good reminder that as parents, when our kids are very young, it's good to work on how to politely handle situations where one is served something one doesn't want to eat. (Cookie, it was your friend that made a big deal of it, you did not).

My grandparents made the most wonderful stuffed peppers and cabbage rolls, both served with sour cream. Grandma would have been heartbroken had we turned down those wonderful dishes but that never happened.

Growing up we never had stuffed peppers and neither did my husband's family. He still does not eat them, but I do and like certain ones. I like the taco type and the Italian type. One son in law when his wife makes them he has to have mashed potatoes with them and ketchup! Not me. I do not make them often at all.

Sue

While your stuffing the peppers, stuff some tomatoes to put in the oven with them. When tomatoes are aplenty from the garden, I always add them to the roasting pan. I boil the peppers some before stuffing but not the tomatoes. The pulp from the tomatoes goes into whatever I am stuffing them with. Mac and cheese with burger was a favorite stuffer for the kids growing up.

I enjoy stuffed peppers very much, but am wary about ordering them in a restaurant. There are so many ways to ruin them for me.

I like mine with rice, assorted chopped veggies, tangy sauce, and cheese of some sort. We both like the flavors of orange or yellow bell peppers more than green.