Go Back
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Stuffed Peppers



This is a delicious simple make-ahead weeknight meal. Everyone seems to love stuffed red peppers. Serve with a side salad and you have a happy family.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Canadian
Servings: 20
Author: Valerie Lugonja

Ingredients

Ingredients for Peppers:

  • 10 large sweet red bell peppers , cleaned, seeded and halved (stems remain on)

Ingredients for Rice:

  • 2 cups long grain rice
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Filling:

  • 3 cups chopped onion or 3 medium onion
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon Vegeta
  • 2 tablespoons really good quality Paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • lots of freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 packages frozen , oven dried tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 5 pounds know-your-farmer ground beef
  • 1 pound know-your-farmer bacon , sliced into lardons
  • 1 tablespoon Vegeta
  • lots of freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder

Ingredients for the Topping:

  • 2 cans tomato soup (yes, I use Campbells)
  • 1/2 cup golden brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons French's dry mustard

Instructions

Instructions for the Peppers:

  • Preheat the oven to 400F; place cleaned and halved peppers on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper
  • Drizzle peppers liberally with olive oil; bake for 20 minutes
  • Cool until needed

Instructions for the Rice:

  • Bring water to a boil; add salt and rice
  • Cook 20 minutes with lid on
  • Strain 4 cups of semi-cooked rice from the pot and set aside

Instructions for the Vegetables:

  • Saute the onions in the oil until translucent; add Vegeta, paprika, salt, pepper, tomatoes and garlic powder
  • Add water if needed to thaw tomatoes
  • Cook on low until tomatoes are thawed and all melded together; add rice
  • Continue to stir and cook on low until all liquid is absorbed and a path can be left by a spoon; set aside

Instructions for Meat:

  • Fry bacon until translucent; add beef, one pound at a time, stirring constantly to brown and break into crumbles
  • Add seasonings
  • Once meat is almost completely browned, taste and adjust seasoning
  • Add rice and vegetable mixture to the meat mixture; stir well to combine and cool to touch

Instructions for Stuffing the Peppers:

  • Drain the liquid that has collected inside of each pepper back into the filling; stir it in
  • Fill each half with 3/4 cup of the filling, mounding it on top
  • Place filled peppers on clean cookie sheet with clean parchment paper; freeze overnight
  • Package individually in freezer bags, wrapped very well first, labelled and dated, until needed OR
  • Place peppers in casserole dish; bake at 400F for 20 minutes until bubbling and hot
  • Cover with tomato sauce or cheese or both; serve immediately

Instructions for the Topping:

  • Combine all ingredients and top each pepper with sauce before baking

Instructions for Freezing:

  • If freezing, it is best to freeze peppers without sauce on parchment lined sheet pan overnight, then top frozen peppers with sauce and fast freeze overnight again
  • Wrap tightly, label and date individually once frozen

Notes

Do not drain fat off the bacon if your beef is ultra lean; it will add flavour and some needed fat