Stuffed Mini Peppers with Beef Rice is my kid's favorite Stuffed Peppers Recipe. They are filled with a flavorful mixture of fluffy rice and delicious beef, then oven-cooked until tender perfection. Top with cheese for melty perfection or sour cream for extra creaminess.
Get all of your ingredients ready, by measuring, cutting and chopping what needs to be chopped.
Parboil the rice - add the rice, broth and salt to a medium sized saucepot, cover with lid and bring to a boil.
Cook for about 10 minutes or until the water evaporates. Open the lid, fluff with a fork, transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool. The rice will not be cooked all the way, and that's OK.
Wash the baby peppers with a brush under running water. Next, trim off the tops with the stems and hallow out the inside from the membranes and seeds.
Saute vegetables:
Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a skillet. Add diced onions and saute until golden in color, stirring oftenb(~5 minutes).
Next, add the shredded carrots, stir and saute another 5-10 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, pressed garlic and cook covered with a lid until the tomatoes are well softened (~10 minutes).
Combine the filling: To the bowl with rice add the sauteed vegetables, ground beef, parsley, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Stir until combined.
Fill the cavity of the peppers with the ground beef and rice mixture from the previous step. There are two ways to do it: with a spoon or by piping it from a pastry bag.
To use a pastry bag fill a large pastry bag with the prepared beef/rice filling, snip about 1/2" of the tip and use it to push the filling into each pepper. Place all the peppers into a 9in x12in baking dish. Once the dish is full you can arrange them in rows if you'd like. Having it partially full helps with arranging them.
Make the cooking liquid: Dissolve the salt in the broth and bring it to a boil to speed up cooking. Pour the seasoned broth around the peppers until it comes halfway to the peppers. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350F° for about 45 minutes or until the rice and peppers are soft.
While the peppers are baking prepare the sauce.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a skillet. Add the diced onions and saute over medium heat until slightly browned, stirring often (~about 5-10 minutes).
Next, add the carrots and saute another 5 minutes with the lid on. Follow by adding the tomatoes, wine and garlic and cook/simmer with the lid on until the tomatoes are almost puree-like, about 10 minutes.
Lastly, turn the heat down to low, add 1 cup of sour cream and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. If the mixture thickened too much, add cream or broth to thin. If it got too thin, continue cooking until it reduces. Finish by seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.
Add 6-7 baby bell peppers to a bowl, then top with the creamy tomato sauce mixture or some sour cream. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Substitute for beef-
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