Stuffed Peppers

I haven't made stuffed peppers in forever, so today I decided it was time to rekindle my love affair with this comfortable dinner companion. Though there are all kinds of things to put into a bell pepper before baking, I like stuffed peppers to remind me of spaghetti without the pasta. This, too, can be achieved with several base ingredients ranging from the obvious ground beef (or chicken or turkey) to kidney beans to vegetarian crumbles. The last option was on tonight's menu because it happened to be what I had in the freezer.

I started by cutting the tops off of three bell peppers (one of each color since the red and yellow were on sale last week) and removing the seeds and membranes. I used to cut the peppers in half lengthwise, but I think they are prettier stuffed upright. Either way, they taste the same. Next, I dropped the peppers in a pot of boiling water for two or three minutes just to soften them up a little. While the water was coming to a boil, I sauteed some chopped red onion, the tops of the bell peppers, minced garlic, plenty of Italian seasonings and black pepper. While this was cooking I rummaged through the fridge for any leftover vegetables that might work well in the stuffing, and I was gratified to find a small container of chopped mushrooms leftover from Sunday's salad lunch, so those went into the pot as well. Next I found the remainders of a jar of spaghetti sauce (which saved me from opening a can of tomato sauce to put in the mixture) and the end of a bag of grated mixed cheese. Once the veggies were softened, I put in the meatless crumbles and stirred until they were heated through before adding the spaghetti sauce and a little extra water. When everything was well-combined I turned off the heat and added the cheese. By this time the peppers had cooked and cooled enough to handle, so I filled them with my meatless mixture and set them in a small baking dish. Adding a little water in the bottom (1/4 to 1/2 an inch) helps steam the bell peppers in the oven and keeps them moist while they cook for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I had enough stuffing mixture to fill four peppers, but since I only had three I tucked the rest in the fridge to eat tomorrow on a piece of toast like a sloppy joe. (Yum!)

Once cooked, the peppers become tender and juicy. The spaghetti sauce quality of the filling makes this a hit with the guys, too. (When Jeff and I were first married, I made stuffed peppers with rice and beans and Cajun seasonings but they didn't go over as well as I had hoped.) Still, bell peppers are versatile enough to accommodate everyone's taste and whatever happens to be in the fridge. It's funny how sometimes we forget how much we like something that I used to cook all the time. I always wonder why we stopped eating it. Were we tired of it? Did I make a variety the guys didn't like? Did one of the ingredients become too expensive? Who knows the answer to the stuffed peppers riddle, but now that we've rediscovered them, I have a feeling we'll be eating them again soon.