Peppers, Peppers, and More Peppers

I have always liked the taste of bell peppers.  I also like the color they bring to a dish.  Well, this week seemed like pepper week at our house.  We made pepper steak one night, had egg salad topped peppers for lunch another day, and another night we had stuffed peppers. 

The egg salad topped peppers were a last minute inspiration based on what I had in the fridge and the fact I hadn’t made rolls and someone had eaten the last one.  It was absolutely yummy!  I made a simple egg salad, added celery, and seasonings and topped mini peppers with the mix.  Delicious.  Who needs bread when peppers are available?

Egg Salad Topped Peppers

2 hard boiled eggs smashed
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
1-2 Tbsp mayo
Dash of mustard
Mini sweet peppers halved
Salt and pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb blend

Mix the eggs, celery, mayo and mustard together.  Top the mini peppers.  Add seasonings to taste.

The second recipe has been begged for by Cinnamon for several months now.  She had never had stuffed peppers before and thought they sounded good.  Well finally this week, she got her wish.  She was excited, until she tasted them.  Then she was enamored, asking for them again and making plans for peppers in the future.  She has a plan brewing for stuffing mini peppers for an appetizer dish for Christmas.  Yes, that is how much that girl loved these peppers.  Everyone enjoyed them actually.  I guess they will be on the menu again! 

Stuffed Peppers

1 lb ground beef or venison

1 large onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 celery stalks chopped
4 mushrooms chopped
½ cup parsley minced
1 cup uncooked rice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 large can of tomato sauce
6 bell peppers

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cut tops off the bell peppers and clean out the center.  Set “lids” aside. 

Brown ground beef, garlic, and onion in a skillet.  Add mushrooms and celery and cook for a few minutes.   Add parsley, rice, oil, salt and pepper, and tomato sauce.  Mix together.  Fill hollowed out peppers.  Top with the “lids.”  Place the peppers in the baking dish.  Add water to the bottom of the dish (about ¼ inch).  Bake for 90 minutes at 325 degrees.

They are also easy to make and inexpensive if you buy the peppers when they are on sale. You can make them for less than $1.30 a serving. I simply added a spinach salad to round out the meal.