Stuffed Peppers

I have been a part of a food swap for about 6 months now, and I am already running low on ideas.  As I was frantically looking for an idea, I realized no one had made stuffed peppers yet, win! Stuffed peppers are a perfect, hearty meal for relatively little cost. They are pretty adaptable and can honestly be made with whatever you want. To make vegetarian, sub in beans or just omit the ground beef all together.
Ingredients (this makes 10 stuffed peppers)
10 peppers
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
3 onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
2.5 lbs ground beef
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 can diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon each of basil, oregano and parsley (dried)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper, to taste

5 cups cooked rice
½ cup grated Parmesan
Cut off top of peppers, removing the seeds and membranes. Dice the edible parts of the tops of the peppers.

 

Add the whole peppers to a pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove from water and set aside.

 

Add the butter and olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, diced peppers, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the ground beef, stirring to break up the meat.

Cook until browned. Add the Worcestershire, diced tomatoes, and tomato puree, stirring to combine.

 

Season with oregano, basil, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cooked rice and parmesan cheese.

 

Stuff peppers with mixture, sprinkling with more parmesan cheese if desired.

 

Because I made these for a swap, I froze the peppers at this stage.

 

To cook, thaw completely then bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes.

I hope they like them!

Stuffed Pumpkin with Cranberry Raisin Bread Pudding

When I came across the title of this recipe, I was intrigued. I wasn’t sure if this would actually be a success, but it sounded so interesting I had to give it a try. So behold, Stuffed Pumpkin Cranberry Raisin Bread Pudding.

Ingredients:
1 pie pumpkin, about the size of your hand
1 stick of butter (1/4 cup) plus 1 teaspoon butter, melted and divided
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup half and half
1/3 chopped pecans
1/2 a raisin bread loaf, cut into smaller pieces
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
Lemon-Vanilla Sauce, to taste
1 vanilla bean, split
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the butter to a pot over low heat to melt. Cut off the top of the pumpkin. Reserve the lid.

 

Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and pulp.

Brush the inside of the pumpkin with 1 teaspoon melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon brown sugar.

 

Cut the bread into similar sized pieces.

Top with the lid. Add the egg, sugar, half and half, pecans, raisin bread loaf pieces, and the remaining melted butter to a bowl and stir to combine.

 

 

Pour the pudding mixture onto a cookie pan sprayed with cooking spray. Add the pumpkin to the cookie sheet as well.

 

 

Bake the pumpkin and bread pudding for 25 minutes. Allow to cool enough to handle and add the bread pudding to the pumpkin.

 

 

While the pumpkin and bread pudding are baking, make the lemon-vanilla sauce. Split the vanilla seed down the middle.

 

Add vanilla bean, water, corn starch, sugar, and salt to a saute pan over medium heat. Stir until smooth and thickened. Add the butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Remove from heat when the mixture is warm.

 

Pour the lemon-vanilla sauce over the bread pudding as desired.

Have you ever been in possession of a recipe that is so good that you almost don’t want to share it? Well, this is one of those recipes. It took a lot of internal debating before I finally decided to share this recipe with you. (Yes, it is that good).

 

 

The bread pudding is sweet and slightly toasted, adding a little bit of a crunch to the dish and the cranberries add a pop of tanginess. The lemon-vanilla sauce is citrusy and sweet at the same time.

 

 

But the best part is that the nifty presentation has an additional enhancement: you can eat the pumpkin! Yay!

 

The pumpkin roasts and softens in the oven, making it easy to scrape away at it bite by bite.
You can make this recipe in individual sizes if you’re really looking for a dessert presentation that wows. Just use smaller pumpkins and distribute the bread pudding among them.

 

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