My mother made the best stuffed peppers. They were simple, but delicious. However, once I became a vegetarian, this item was off the menu for me. I’ve tried several times to recreate her recipe using vegetarian products, but have yet to successfully capture that taste I remember so well.
What is missing is the infusion of the pepper flavor into the rice and meat mixture. Vegetarian ground beef does not absorb flavor as the real deal does.
Tofu is great for absorbing flavor. I’ve used a tofu/vegetarian ground beef mixture as the stuffing. I’ve sauteed tofu and green pepper together hoping for some infusion. Although tastey, these methods fell short of the goal.
So on my fifth (or so) attempt, I have unstuffed the peppers. The hope was that sitting in an oven for 35 minutes would allow the pepper’s juices enough to time to release and get acquainted with the other ingredients.
Did it work? Almost! Its not quite there, but it made for an extremely easy and delicious…and almost well-infused recipe. If my low-carb dieting husband is willing to cheat for a recipe, I know its a good one!
Unstuffed Pepper Casserole
1-2 green peppers, chopped
1 package vegetarian ground beef
25 oz (approximate) jar or can of pasta sauce
1 cup white or brown rice, uncooked
1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare rice according to package directions.
3. In a 9×9 or 7×11 casserole dish, mix together all ingredients except reserve 1/2 cup shredded cheese for topping. The rice should be completely moistened by the sauce.
4. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese.
5. Bake 35-45 minutes to ensure some pepper juice infusion!
I will be submitting this recipe to the following fabulous food events…
Lady Behind the Curtain’s Cast Party Wednesdays
This Chick Cooks’ These Chicks Cooked
I love it! Good job!
I think this sounds awesome! Thanks!
I think I would like this version better than stuffed peppers. Thanks for sharing! I wanted to invite your over to my cookbook giveaway that is going on right now until July 16th. Stop on by to enter! Hope you are having a great week
http://steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-first-giveaway.html
I am so glad you visited Concetta’s Cafe today! Your kind words were so sweet – thank you so much!!
Your recipe looks so scrumptuous! Who needs meat with this lovely casserole!!
Have a blessed day!
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Concetta
That casserole sounds so good! Thanks for coming to share your recipe!
Katie
Thank you for sharing your recipe with me at Cast Party Wednesday. I hope you will come back tomorrow and share more of your recipes.
Thanks,
I hope to see you there!
Try using a fresh eggplant in your casseroles, especially, the green pepper recipe which I intend to make tonight!
Be sure to sprinkle the eggplant with salt on papers towels for a while to dry them out first. I found that mushrooms and eggplant are great meat substitutes and more flavor than the crumbles in most dishes. Another tip: cook the long grain rice in veggie broth with some butter instead of just water to give it more flavor.
Rebecca! Great tips. I appreciate them. Can I tell you of an eggplants salting horror story? When my husband and I were newly married, I thought I’d impress him with my cooking prowess (although I didn’t really have any). So I made this eggplant tomato casserole and salted the eggplant. When it was time to rinse the salt off, it wouldn’t go away. I probably went through gallons of water trying to rinse and soak, but no matter what – the saltiness remained. Eventually I gave up and made the casserole with eggplant as is. Needless to say, despite the repeated washing the dish was too salty and inedible. What did I do wrong?
I know this was nearly a month ago, but how did your eggplant stuffed pepper casserole turn out?