Stuffed Bell Peppers

Today at Ashton's doctor's appointment, the doctor told me I should pretty much eat anything loaded with carbs and fat because I'm breast-feeding. She said that dieting is like giving him skim milk which = bad. As much as everyone wants to hear "eat all the crap in sight," I've got just a few last pounds I wanna kick to officially get to my pre-preggo weight so this wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear.

My solution was to be sure I'm making healthy dinners but nothing low-cal or low-fat so that my body still feels good and Ash is getting everything he needs. Emeril Lagasse is one of my fav cooks so here's one of his recipes I'm making for dinner tonight!

Mr. John's Meat-Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

• 6 green bell peppers, tops cut away and seeds removed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cooked long or medium-grain white rice
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• Water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling water, parboil the peppers until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and dry on paper towels.

In a large saute pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and chopped bell peppers and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the beef, pork, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook until the meat is browned, stirring with a heavy wooden spoon to break up the lumps, about 6 minutes. Add the rice and tomato sauce and stir well. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste.

Pour enough water into a baking dish to just cover the bottom, about 1/8-inch deep. Stuff the bell peppers with the rice mixture and place in the baking dish. Bake until the peppers are very tender and the filling is heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.


I've made it before and it's REALLY good! I do take out the pork and just sub ground beef, so it ends up being a pound of GB total. I'm just not a pork fan and I feel like it's not very healthy (who knows...just grosses me out). I'm just cutting up cantaloupe to go with it on the side for some added healthy stuff and to avoid putting something green with the already green bell peppers (like salad or green beans...ya. I'm weird like that). Pretty quick, super easy, and super good! Gotta love another MSM (Martha Stewart moment)!