Stuffed Peppers

A few days ago, my friend, Machel, asked me if I had a stuffed peppers recipe. "Do I ever!" is what I responded with...and then I got to thinking--do I really have a recipe for this? These stuffed peppers fall under the 'make it until it tastes right' family recipe category. Meaning there are no measurements--just ingredients. So for all of you wanting to make my Mom's stuffed peppers in the near future, give this recipe a try. It's just delicious and will stick to your ribs. Good food for the upcoming months.

Side note--after I had my baby, my Mom came into town for a good two weeks to help with the little one and fill my fridge and freezer to the brim with prepared meals. This was one of the things she made and my husband (and my brother in law) went crazy over them! They both were puzzled as to why we (my sister and I) had never made them before. I didn't really have an answer. So now he requests them, and I make them. 

Hope you all are in the mood for some German food tonight! Or maybe it's Hungarian. (My ancestors are from both places, so we eat food from both places and things get confusing!) Either way, these are mighty tasty.

Stuffed Peppers

yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef (80/20)

1 lb. ground pork

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 cup long grain white rice

salt

pepper

6 green bell peppers*

1 large can tomato juice

1/2 cup water

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1/4 cup lard or shortening

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

salt 

pepper

Directions:

Prepare bell peppers by cutting the tops off and removing the seeds and the ribs. Wash and set aside. In large bowl, mix together beef, pork, onion, rice, salt and pepper. Stuff bell peppers with meat mixture. 

*If you do not have enough green peppers, then form meatballs with the remaining stuffing--this is a great way to get your kids to eat this meal, too!*

In a large pot, pour in the entire can of tomato juice. Rinse can out with 1/2 cup water. Place stuffed peppers and any meatballs into the pot. Try to submerge them as best as possible. Cover with lid and heat pot over medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer lightly for 1-2 hours. 

In a large skillet, melt shortening over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk until smooth. Cook roux until it deepens in color to be a medium brown. Stir frequently to make sure it doesn't burn. 

Using a slotted spoon, remove stuffed peppers and meatballs from pot leaving the hot cooking liquid. Pour browned roux into remaining tomato juice (it will bubble violently for a few seconds at first, so just be aware that it is totally normal). Stir well. After a few minutes, the tomato juice should thicken and become more of a sauce. Stir in sugar and more salt and pepper. It will be sweet--as it should be :) Serve with rye bread--or any other bread you have around, but really, rye is the best.

Recipe TIPS

-You can use all ground beef if you don't have/can't find ground pork.