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Stuffed Pepper Question....

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1Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sat Aug 24, 2013 11:02 am

bethk

bethk
Admin

When I was pulling my vegetables to prep for the stir fry I notice I have a red and an orange sweet pepper...but I didn't want them in my stir fry.

I'm thinking of making a small dish of stuffed peppers...but I don't want them for a meal this week.

Have any of you frozen the stuffed peppers after they are baked to reheat successfully? I'm afraid the peppers might just turn to mush...

Any ideas? Hints?

Thanks!

2Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sat Aug 24, 2013 11:22 am

Barbara101

Barbara101

I only use red or orange peppers.In everything.

I have not froze made stuffed pepper.I eat them all .lol

I know years ago I bought a whole bushel of green ones,what the heck??

I ended up cleaning them & bagged them. They where mush but ok for sauce & to throw in something that was casserole.Etc. but to stuff no..

so I guess I don't know the answer.Stuffed Pepper Question.... 1738318596 

3Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:05 am

Crybaby

Crybaby

I freeze stuffed peppers that I've already baked ALL THE TIME with no problem.  And I always parboil my bell peppers prior to stuffing.  There's no loss in texture at all that I've ever noticed.  But then I only use the green peppers for stuffing. The others might be a tad softer but I doubt it would make a difference at all.

I wrap the peppers individually in plastic wrap and then wrap in aluminum foil for freezing.  That way I can take out as many as I want and leave the others in the freezer.

4Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:17 am

bethk

bethk
Admin

That sounds like a plan, Crybaby. I had not thought of wrapping them individually...but that makes more sense than putting them into a casserole dish when they might be reheated just for one and not a family meal.

Thanks!

5Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:18 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

OK, so I admit....I don't have a tried and true recipe. I usually just wing it.

Anyone have a "real" recipe or spices and method they swear by?

6Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:35 pm

Barbara101

Barbara101

I do .. The picture I took for them is long gone tho. So just picture it in your head lol

Steam your peppers a little first.

make a lasagna stuffing..what I mean by that is..the stuff you make to layer up lasagna .
browned sausage,
ricotta with eggs mixed in & basil.
spag sauce.

layer up in the peppers.

cover with Mozz cheese.

bake..

so what you have is lasagna stuffed peppers lol.

7Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:55 pm

Barbara101

Barbara101

Stuffed Pepper Question.... 1d6df41cab0e8b3cb5ae9c1d6a7cbe06-1


lasagna stuffed peppers.

8Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 2:45 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

OK, that's different from anything I've ever done. I usually do ground beef, cooked rice, tomato sauce and whatever spices I happen to touch in the cabinet....

I don't have any ricotta. Or any cheese of any sort, save for cream cheese.

Gotta think on this a bit more....

9Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:29 pm

thesweetestpea

thesweetestpea

I found this in my old recipe box and scribbled on a scrap of linen tablet. Must be mom or grandma's recipe, which is just a "go by" thing.

STUFFED PEPPERS
1 cup uncooked rice
1 lb. lean ground beef (or half beef/half sausage)
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Italian seasoning or 2 tsp. chili powder (but not both)
4 medium bell pepper
tomato or marinara sauce to cover

Mix all ingredients together except peppers and marinara sauce and place in a covered glass casserole dish, one where they will sit snuggly and upright. Pour tomato sauce over to cover thickly, add a little water to the bottom of casserole and bake in a slow oven for 1 1/2 hours or until peppers are fork tender.

*My mom and grandma always made tons of these in the summer and froze them in meal size packages. There cabbage rolls had a similar filling and covered in sauerkraut and tomato sauce on top of that.

10Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:43 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

That looks more like what I've tried before....since I had it in my head to use ground beef and rice I think that is the route I'll take.

Thanks to both of you for the ideas!

11Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 7:32 pm

Barbara101

Barbara101

now I want stuffed peppers my way. Razz Razz  I can see my grocery list growing.

12Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:04 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

Inspiration.

A good thing no matter how it happens.....LOL

13Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Mon Aug 26, 2013 10:31 pm

UNCLE JIMMY

UNCLE JIMMY

I am heading into a 2 peppers upstairs fridge and two downstairs fridge.
Not planning on using them...so I will cut them in half west to east and cut off the stem, and seed them.
I scrape out the rib flesh (bitter) and I will spoon them together and put them in a Tupperware and fill it with water all the way over the peppers so they are totally covered. Naturally not filled with anything. Then Freeze them for later.
 
When thawed,...they are still with a slight crisp because the cells of the peppers are enveloped like that wooly mammoth that was in ice frozen for 12 million years.
And the man they found the same way in water frozen solid. It preserves the flesh and does not allow air entrainment.
Freezing that way will prevent freezer burn in any product, but the downfall, is it takes up a lot of freezer space.

14Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:05 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

The stuffed peppers came out good. DD said she preferred me to just freeze in a casserole with all four halves and she would reheat for a real meal sometime after I leave.

15Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Tue Aug 27, 2013 5:13 pm

Crybaby

Crybaby

I don't use a recipe when I stuff peppers but this is basically what I do.

I brown ground meat in chunks (I don't like it when people break it up into tiny pieces, as I don't like that texture) and remove it from the pan once the main pink part disappears (the meat will cook more in the sauce and in the oven so don't worry).  

Then I brown in bacon grease some onions, garlic, celery and about one chopped up green or red bell pepper.  Then I use my hands to break up whole canned tomatoes over the cooking veggies and, of course, I've seasoned the veggie mixture with salt, pepper, oregano and Italian seasonings (crush the seasoning, if it's dried, between your fingers prior to adding it).  Then I add the juice from the canned tomatoes.  I heat that up and then add some other seasonings like Tabasco and a small piece of anchovy paste for the umami.  Once that sauce is hot, I put the browned brown meat back in.  After maybe 10 minutes I adjust the seasoning again.  I know I'm going to add chunky bread crumbs (instead of rice) so the sauce should be kind of chunky saucy.  When the sauce is tasty, I put it in a big bowl and add chunky bread crumbs instead of rice.  

I've parboiled my green peppers after I cut them in half from pole to pole and removed the stem, pith and seeds-- only for about 5 minutes or so, NOT until soft.  We find that if we stuff the entire pepper, it's too big so I've always cut them in half (that and because my Mom did!).  After draining them, I put them on a Pam'd baking sheet with rims and then after cooling the stuffing for a while, I stuff them handily -- go ahead and pile up the stuffing above the peppers.  Then I mix Progresso Italian breadcrumbs with the same amount of grated Parmesan or Romano (or both) and spread that generously on top of the peppers prior to baking.  I just bake them about 325-350 for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the stuffing is bubbling and the bread crumbs have browned.  

Easy, peasy, Japenesy!  They freeze really well, too.

16Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Tue Aug 27, 2013 5:17 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

I love that you use bacon fat....I have a couple containers in my freezer most of the time. The flavor is so good with so many things, even if you cannot recognize it.

17Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Tue Aug 27, 2013 6:35 pm

Crybaby

Crybaby

Brian is the bacon-cooker in this household -- he does it in the microwave on an older-than-dirt bacon microwave tray with grooves and which he covers with a paper towel (remember doing that?) Well, he still does it that way and he makes wonderful bacon.

We drain the bacon fat into half-pint jars that I usually keep in the veggie drawers (so he can find it). There's usually 2 to 3 jars of it in there. It does add a lot of flavor to things, for sure, especially onions and garlic when cooking in it.

18Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Tue Aug 27, 2013 7:16 pm

thesweetestpea

thesweetestpea

thesweetestpea wrote:I found this in my old recipe box and scribbled on a scrap of linen tablet.  Must be mom or grandma's recipe, which is just a "go by" thing.

STUFFED PEPPERS
1 cup uncooked rice
1 lb. lean ground beef (or half beef/half sausage)
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Italian seasoning or 2 tsp. chili powder (but not both)
4 medium bell pepper
tomato or marinara sauce to cover

Mix all ingredients together except peppers and marinara sauce and place in a covered glass casserole dish, one where they will sit snuggly and upright.  Pour tomato sauce over to cover thickly, add a little water to the bottom of casserole and bake in a slow oven for 1 1/2 hours or until peppers are fork tender.

*My mom and grandma always made tons of these in the summer and froze them in meal size packages.  There cabbage rolls had a similar filling and covered in sauerkraut and tomato sauce on top of that.
I made this recipe today w/3 lbs. of ground beef and used 2 pkts. of Zesty Italian salad dress mix for my Italian seasoning and added the salt and black pepper. I added 3 eggs because it seemed like it would be too dry and it was pretty dry when baked in the peppers. I didn't parboil my peppers and I baked the casserole at 300 degrees for 2 hours. Next time, I will add half the amount of rice and double the eggs and add some water to the bottom of the dish before pouring over the marinara sauce -- I used a 26 oz. jar of marinara.

I posted this update because I didn't want anyone making this recipe and having it turn out like mine did. I even called my mom to ask about the recipe and she said she hadn't made them in so long, she didn't remember if this was her recipe or not or if it should have eggs in it.

19Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Tue Aug 27, 2013 7:47 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

How nice you can still call your mom to ask about a recipe.

20Stuffed Pepper Question.... Empty Re: Stuffed Pepper Question.... Tue Aug 27, 2013 8:34 pm

thesweetestpea

thesweetestpea

bethk wrote:How nice you can still call your mom to ask about a recipe.  
Yes it is and she can still work circles around most people -- she will be 80 in October. She still cooks 2 meals a day and brings my dad his 2nd cup of coffee on the porch. They live on an open channel in St. Pete, next to a marina, and their 1st floor screened in porch, looks out onto the water. She bakes at least once a week to take a treat to their condo's Bingo night. My dad (in my avatar with their dog) just turned 80 this month. I'm fortunate to still have them both.

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