I Coulda Had A Stuffed Pepper Stuffed Peppers

Description

After having stuffed peppers a few times i finally just decided i didn't like them. That was until a neighbor brought me some stuffed peppers for dinner one evening while i was ill. I decided to eat them just because i felt too sick to make anything for myself, and i'm glad i did. They were absolutely wonderful, with a different, richer flavor than the traditional stuffed peppers i had always tried before. She was hesitant to give up her secret, but i begged and begged until she did. So here it is.

Note that the lemon juice and sugar are optional. They were my adaptation to the recipe, and i like the flavor they impart to the sauce. But it is a matter of personal taste and the peppers are still excellent without them. Just use the "secret ingredient" that replaces the traditional tomato sauce as is. A 4th tablespoon of rice can also be added if you prefer, but if you do, add 2 more tablespoons of the liquid to the meat mixture. There is also a note at the bottom which gives directions on preparing these on top of the stove or in an electric skillet if you'd prefer.

Ingredients

• Green Peppers
• Vegetable Juice Cocktail
• Lemon Juice
• Sugar
• Lean Ground Beef
• Onion
• Salt
• Pepper
• Raw Rice
• Water
• Egg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cut the stems off the peppers, remove the seeds and membranes from inside, then rinse well with water to wash
3. Set aside
4. If you choose to use the lemon juice and sugar, combine them with the vegetable juice cocktail and set aside
5. In a bowl, add the ground beef, onion, salt, pepper, rice, egg, 3 tablespoons of water and cup of the vegetable juice cocktail mixture
6. Mix until very well combined
7. Stuff each prepared pepper with 1 / 6 of the meat mixture
8. Place the stuffed peppers, cut side up, in a baking dish that will hold the peppers in one layer but keep them fairly close together
9. Pour the remaining juice mixture around the peppers
10. It should come to about 2 / 3 up the sides of the peppers
11. Spoon just a bit of the juice onto the meat in each pepper and place in the oven
12. Bake for about an hour, basting every 10 minutes or so, until the meat is cooked through, the rice is soft, and the sauce has thickened up a bit
13. It should look more like sauce at this point than juice
14. Serve and enjoy
15. After adding the juice, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, baste, cover and simmer, and continue basting every 10 minutes or so until done