A simple stuffed pepper!

Every so often, I get a hankering for a good old fashioned stuffed bell pepper. And, as it was the summertime, I had hoped that the peppers would be more affordable! That turned out not to be the case! No matter, here is my personal take on making a meal of one vis a vie the convection oven route!

I'll start with the following simple ingredients:

Ingredients                                                         Cost

¼ lb ground beef, browned                                 .68 (the cost of beef is headed down)

1 large bell pepper, cored                                    .89 (see inflated cost post)

¼ cup cooked rice                                               .35 (white instant)

2 tbsp of shredded cheddar cheese                     .10

1/4  8 oz can of tomato sauce                              .15

salt and pepper to taste ---

                                                              Total   $2.17        Calories 300 for 1/2 serving

Preparation: The peppers gets its top cut off and then is gutted of all seeds under cold running water. I then brown the hamburger in a small frying pan and then drain off the excess grease. Next, I will add in the cooked rice, one tbsp of shredded cheese and half the tomato sauce into a mixing bowl. Using a fork, I will then mix the ingredients up while also seasoning lightly with the a dash of salt and pepper. The bell pepper will then be placed in a small casserole dish where I will then add the mixture. Lastly, I will sprinkle on a bit more cheese after first pouring the rest of the can over the pepper. See? Easy greasy!

The casserole dish with the pepper then goes into a preheated convection oven set at 350ºF for about 25 minutes or until done! This is a very simple (and pretty cheap) meal to throw together, and is something I promise everyone will enjoy!

Note to self: Make sure to boil the pepper in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes prior to stuffing. I also plan to do a Mexican version of this soon...