Stuffed Peppers

December was such a crazy month and I didn't get a chance to post much. I'm hoping to be more productive in the kitchen this month, considering I now have my very own kitchen! I just moved into my own apartment. Woohoo! so very excited about it. I decided that stuffed peppers would be the dish to christen my kitchen. My mom makes them  for me occasionally even though she hates peppers. I still think hers are better, but these turned out really good too. I used a mix of ground beef, veal, and pork. Next time I'd like to try Italian sausage. Mmmmmm.

I was so excited to use my kitchen for the first time and have Dave over for dinner but... things did not quite go as planned. I made the salad and started making the salad dressing and realized I didn't have any oil. I got resourceful and used cooking spray. That's kind of the same thing, right? It made the dressing super foamy and weird but it still tasted alright and Dave didn't seem to notice anything was off.  My mom came over to help me light my gas oven, so that I wouldn't accidentally blow myself up. As much as we tried, we couldn't light the pilot light and it didn't seem like the gas was working. so.. no oven. great....

The stove top still worked so I did most of the prep work there and then had to cook them in the microwave, which was upsetting to me, but I was starting to get over it and be thankful I picked a dish that would even work in the microwave. Dave called and was on  his way so I went to heat them up and.... The microwave wasn't working either. I almost cried. I thought for sure I would have to either cancel my dinner or figure out a way to cook them on the stove top. Turns out the microwave just wasn't plugged in, so once I figured that out it was smooth sailing. Dinner turned out great! The repairman came yesterday to fix the oven. He left a note saying it was working fine and that I just had to leave it on for a couple minutes and let it warm up. Didn't even have to light the pilot. Oops. Oh well, you live and you learn.

Ingredients

• 6 green bell peppers
• salt to taste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
• water as needed

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.
4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Source: Allrecipes.com