Low-Carb Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef

A few weeks ago, my mom mentioned that she missed my Tasty Tuesday's, and then, soon after, Luke mentioned that my blog should not have recipes on it because I should stick to the travels. I agree with him BUT last night, I made a good one! So I believe that I should share this one with you for three reasons, 1.) to satisfy my mom's want for Tasty Tuesday, 2.) so I can document the recipe for future reference, and 3.) Luke doesn't tell me what to do.

I always do the same thing with minced beef (British term for ground beef). Tacos. Always tacos. Don't get me wrong, tacos are delish! But I gotta mix it up every once in a while. So after Jill made stuffed peppers a few months ago, I have been wanting to try them. I changed things up a little in the recipe I found to satisfy the Carb-Nazi, and also because I like a little spice with my meat (TWSS)!

Low-Carb Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef (click title for original recipe)

Recipe from About.com (seriously, who would have thought About.com had good recipes?!?!?)
Time: approx. 1 hour 30 minutes (don't be intimidated by this, it is not difficult!)
Servings: 6 stuffed peppers


Ingredients:

-6 bell peppers (I used green, red, orange, and yellow because that was cheaper than only green)

-1 tablespoon of olive oil

-1 chopped onion

-1 can (14.5 ounces) of chopped tomatoes

-8 ounces of Passata (tomato sauce)

-3 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

-1 teaspoon of dried leaf oregano

-1/2 teaspoon of dried leaf basil

-1 teaspoon of Tony's

-2 teaspoons of salt, divided

-1 teaspoon of ground black pepper, divided

-1 egg, lightly beaten

-1 1/2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

-1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef or chuck

-1/2 cups grated of Parmesan Cheese

-2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

1.) Cut tops off peppers; remove seeds and membranes. Rinse peppers under cold water. Place peppers in a large pot; cover with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain peppers and set aside. 

2.) Meanwhile, chop the onion and the edible part of the tops of the peppers and put aside. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat until hot. Sauté chopped peppers (from tops), chopped onion, and red pepper flakes for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the minced garlic and stir until garlic becomes fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

3.) Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine egg with remaining 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon of Tony's, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir with a fork to blend. Add the raw ground beef, parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of shredded cheese; Use clean hands to mix well. Add 1 cup of the tomato mixture when it is finished simmering, and mix well using a spoon. Stuff each pepper with the meat mixture (if you can, over stuff them) and place in a 3-quart baking dish. Pour the remaining tomato mixture over the stuffed peppers. Bake at 350°F/175°C for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the meat is cooked (cut into one with a knife). Top the peppers with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese with however much cheese you like. Bake until cheese is melted.

If you have extra meat that cannot fit into the peppers:

Make small meatballs. Add the meatballs to the dish after the peppers have been cooking for 25 minutes (giving them about 20 minutes to cook).

I am a little lot irritated with myself because I did not take a picture of the finished product which is why you are stuck with a picture of the lone pepper. Sorry, if it looks gross, but it was so not gross!!

Peppers after they have been boiled:

 Pre and post cooked veggies:

 Peppers after they have been stuffed, and then topped with tomato mixture:

 One of the finished peppers:

I ate some toasted bread with a garlic herb butter as a side because I like a little bit of carbs with my meal, but other good options for a small amount of carbs would be quinoa or brown rice. Amazingly, this was enough food for both Luke and me and we even had two whole peppers and three small meatballs (that I made with the remaining meat) leftover!

Luke told me to "add that to 'this list'" meaning add it to my 'make this again' list which seems to be growing and growing. Glad that he enjoyed it! I hope you can enjoy it one day as well :-)