Kid Friendly Stuffed Peppers
When I think of kid friendly foods, stuffed peppers aren’t the first place my mind takes off to. In fact, my mind doesn’t go there at all. But because of a happy accident, that’s exactly what these stuffed peppers turned into…Kid Friendly.
During the summer, we garden, and typically have a bounty of fresh peppers. One of our favorite ways to eat them is stuffed with rice, or orzo, tomatoes, beef, and cheese. It’s like a pizza, but without bread, and crammed down inside the pepper. Delicious, really. And one day last week when the weather had been nice for 3 days straight, I got a hankering for stuffed peppers.
Later that evening, Seven and I scooted down to Food Lion for the ingredients, but ran into a problem. No orzo. The Boy nearly had a fit on the lady who stocks the shelves. “We have an issue,” he told her. An issue, in fact. So I left the store under the pretense that I would use rice instead of orzo, and all would be remedied. When I got home, though, an idea came upon me that astounds me to this very moment. I decided against using rice, and used a pasta instead.
Alphabet Pasta.
You may recall my post on Homemade Alphabet Soup, which I do love. But why should the ABCs be confined to soup? It’s pasta, like Orzo, and it’s small, like Orzo. Why not treat it the same? What resulted was a very tasty (and educational) meal that Seven ate up, and enjoyed because of the novelty of the letters. if you have a picky kiddo in the house, give this recipe a try!
P is for Peppers – Alphabet Stuffed Peppers
makes 6 medium sized stuffed peppers
- 6 Medium Peppers, any color, topped and seeded
- 1 cup Alphabet Pasta, cooked to al dente
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1/2 pound diced mushrooms
- 1 Sweet Onion, diced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon Rosemary Garlic (I used Spice Islands Grinder)
- 1 can sweet corn (I used Niblets), drained
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese (I used Kraft Mexican Blend)
- 4 Tablespoons Butter, divided
In a large pan, sauté the onions with 1 tablespoon of butter until translucent, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the mushrooms and 1 tablespoon of butter to the same pan (no need to clean it) and sauté until tender. Add the ground beef, salt, pepper and Seasonings and cook alongside the mushrooms until just done. Add the cooked alphabet pasta and the canned corn to the mixture and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
Fill each of the cleaned peppers with the beef mixture, top with a small pat of butter, then replace the pepper cap. Place the peppers in a lidded casserole, or, a casserole pan with a piece of foil to cover the top of the entire dish to allow the peppers to steam. Be sure to add about 1/4 cup water to the bottom of the casserole before applying the lid or foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove from the oven, and take the tops off the peppers. Add the shredded cheese to each pepper, then replace in the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and enjoy!
Interested in Spice Islands? I used their Rosemary Garlic Grinder in this recipe, as well as their Sea Salt Grinder and absolutely loved the flavor they provided. The grinders are so easy to use, too – very convenient! If you haven’t tried them yet, you should. Their spices are readily available in most grocery stores, but you could also WIN a wonderful assortment of Spice Islands as well!
I am happy to say that Spice Islands has offered one lucky Doughmesstic reader the chance to experience their spices first hand. Now, I can’t tell you everything that you’ll get in your gift box, but I do know you’ll receive both of the above grinders, as well as a bottle of their fantastic Vanilla Extract (which unlike most commercial brands does NOT include corn syrup, and smells wonderful!), Saigon Cinnamon, and then a few other surprises as well! A great addition to your bevy of spices, don’t you think?
To win, please visit the Spice Islands Website, and return here to tell me which of their massive spices you would most like to have. I may be able to pull a string or two to get it for you should you win!
For a second entry, please Fan me on Facebook, so that you are always up to date on the latest recipes and reviews (and giveaways!) Just be sure to leave me a separate comment saying you follow me there!
I highly suggest you follow me on Twitter as well – bonus entries are often shouted out there from time to time, and you would hate to miss it, right? No additional points for following – just wanted to point that out!
Giveaway closes at 11:59pm EST on March 10th, and is open to US residents only, ages 18 and up. Good Luck!
Disclaimer: I was provided these spices from Spice Islands, but all opinions are 100% my own,. I was not compensated for this post.
