Monday, September 26, 2011

Basic Stuffed Peppers

I simply love, love, LOVE stuffed peppers.

Since getting back from the trip to Croatia several years ago, I began to appreciate peppers, thanks to punjene paprike, a.k.a. stuffed peppers. After a few failed attempts, I finally managed to figure out a simple way to make them. This is how I do it.

Ingredients (4 servings):
4 large bell peppers
2 eggs
1 pack (1.3 lb) ground beef
1 cup rice (I used cooked rice this time because I had too much leftover cooked rice, again)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 bay leaves
Tomato sauce/juice
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare the peppers: cut off the tops and clean out the seeds.
2. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, rice, onions, garlic, and eggs.
Add a little bit of salt and pepper. If you have dried herbs, you can also add them a little.
3. For me, this is the fun part.
Stuff the peppers. Stuff, stuff, stuff! But be careful not to overstuff them because the stuffing will expand a little as it gets cooked.



4. In a large pot, place the peppers and pour the tomato sauce or juice. (This time I used 3 cans of V8 vegetable juice and added 1 cup of Prego tomato sauce.) The peppers should be completely covered. Add some water if needed to. (You can add a couple tablespoons of flour if you want to thicken the sauce). Add salt. You can also add a couple stems of parsley and celery if you have them.
5. Bring to boil and then simmer for 1-2 hours.
When the peppers are all soft, serve them on the plates and pour plenty of sauce over them.
I like to serve them with bread, mashed potatoes and yogurt (or sour cream).
Dobar tek!

10 comments:

  1. For some reason I always seem to buy too many green peppers. This is a great way to take care of those few extras! That last picture has me craving this savory dish. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! It's hard not to buy them when I see those colorful, pretty peppers piled up at the vegetable market :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This recipe looks fantastic and your blog is so cute! New follower! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  4. these stuffed peppers look great! And the sauce looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you! The sauce is really good, I always lick the plate clean :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. The first thing I thought when I saw the photo was "oh, I love love love stuffed peppers." Then I saw that was exactly what you wrote ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the comment! Yeah, it's so hard not to love them :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ducky, Thanks for stopping by The Saucy Gourmet. Amazing enough, I pick up peppers at the store yesterday for tonight's dinner, gonna try your recipe tonight. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you, Shari! Stuffed peppers are also good the day after, they absorb the sauce :)

    ReplyDelete