Not Your Average Stuffed Peppers

For as long as I can remember, stuffed pepper recipes were limited to some kind of seasoned rice and ground beef or sausage mixture (not that there's anything wrong with that).  Growing up this is the version that my mom served.  Recently, I have seen a few intriguing recipes involving Tex-Mex ingredients like black beans and corn.  In my household this would not go over very well, so I got to thinking, "what could I incorporate to make an interesting stuffed pepper that everyone in my house would like?"  This is what I came up with:

"Tuna Casserole Stuffed Peppers"

• Basmati Rice
• Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Large can of Tuna Fish (drained)
• Diced onions
• Fresh Broccoli (peas if you prefer)
• Swiss Cheese
• Salt, pepper, garlic

After choosing flat bottomed peppers that will likely stand up without assistance, be sure to properly clean the peppers (i.e., wash, cut off the top, remove membrane).  I always boil the peppers before stuffing and baking them.  It makes them softer and in my opinion enhances their flavor. Be sure to fully submerge the peppers in the water while they boil.  If they can't be fully submerged, just rotate them every couple of minutes.  They're ready when the outer skin looks like it's blistered.

I cooked the rice using a rice cooker and steamed the broccoli for a few minutes to lessen the baking time.  Then I combined everything in a large bowl and stuffed the peppers. 

The peppers stand up nicely in a lightly greased small glass casserole dish.  I then covered them loosely with foil and baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  The bake time depends on how large your peppers are, if you precooked the stuffing ingredients, and how tightly you stuff the peppers.  Once all the ingredients have had time to heat up and 'mesh' flavors, I remove the foil and place one slice of swiss cheese on top for about 5 additional minutes. 

And that's it...super easy to make.  You could make different versions using a different type of pepper, various cheeses, or even decide to mix cheese in the stuffing rather than melting over the top.  My household tends to be impressed with 'gooeyness', so I went for the wow factor.  These make a pretty large portion, so if you prefer smaller portions, cut the peppers into halves prior to boiling.

Do you have a unique stuffed pepper recipe that you created?  How would you change the recipe to impress your family? 

And so it begins...

For a while now I've been thinking about starting a blog to share my cooking adventures (or lack thereof).  I am often inspired by things that happen to be in my pantry and refrigerator.  If not inspiration it's desperation and avoidance of a trip to the grocery store.  Most of the time my culinary experiments work - at least according to my husband.  I plan to share my best and worst attempts so stay tuned.