I was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about all the things you can stuff (random, I know). Since I couldn’t sleep, I decided, “what the heck, I’ll just count how many things I can think of that could be stuffed.” It was late, but here goes:
Pillows, rabbits, birds, noses, dolls, socks, bras, cushions, shirts, faces, chocolate, pastries, chicken, tomatoes, apples, zucchini, pork chops, potatoes…and on it went. Somewhere in there I thought, well, maybe I should do a short series on “stuffed” foods. When I think of stuffed foods, Peppers are the first that come to my mind. Over the years, I have tweaked this recipe and it is now one of my family’s favorites. It is also a lovely fall dish. So, in honor of all things stuffed and the first week of fall, I say we hunker down, pour a glass of Cabernet and get cooking!

Stuffed Peppers and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

~Serves 4-6~

Food Stuffs:
6 Peppers-varying colors (red, green, yellow, orange, purple)
3 Eggs
64oz Can of tomato juice (not v-8)
16oz fresh chopped tomatoes (2cups) OR 1 canning jar of canned tomatoes
1lb Ground turkey or beef
2c White uncooked rice OR 4c cooked brown rice (if you don’t cook the brown rice it will be crunchy)
8-10 Large Yukon Gold potatoes-peeled and cubed

Spices
Meat mixture:
1tsp Sea Salt
1tsp Cumin
1tsp Cracked Pepper
1/4tsp Cayenne pepper
1tsp Chili powder
2tsp Garlic powder
2tsp Onion powder
1TBL Oregano
1/4tsp Nutmeg

Sauce:
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 tsp Cracked pepper
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Oregano
A sprinkle of crushed red peppers and a dash of cinnamon

Clean and core the peppers. Heat your oven to 425.

In a large bowl combine meat, eggs, rice, spices and 2 cups-ish of the tomato juice(for brown rice – 4c for white). Mix, mix, mix. Stuff each pepper, thoroughly and to the top of the pepper (not out the top). Place them in a deep baking dish and pour over tomato juice until 2/3 of the pepper is submerged in juice. Cover with aluminum foil and pop them in the oven.

Place your potatoes in salted water and boil until they are fork tender. Drain and whip in the mixer adding one stick salted sweet cream butter and 1.5TBL salt and 2tsp garlic powder…OR you could wrap 4 cloves of garlic with 1tsp of olive oil, in aluminum foil and bake in the over for 30min or until it is soft and brown and then add that to your potatoes-YUM!

Allow the peppers to cook for 45min. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 20min or until the tops start to brown.

Sauce: Combine the remaining tomato juice, fresh tomatoes or canned and spices in a sauce pan. Set your heat to med and let simmer for 30min or until it reduces and thickens. Before serving, remove the sauce form the pepper pan and add to your tomato sauce. Boil for 2-3min to allow all the flavors to meld. Pour sauce over the peppers and serve.  I have a lovely fall orange baking set that I use for the dish. Whatever you use to plate, make sure it is festive :) Toss up a salad and homemade dressing (1/3c Olive oil, 3TBL sugar, 4TBL apple cider vinegar, 1/4tsp pepper, garlic powder, oregano flakes and a couple shakes of salt – then blend in a food processor until it emulsifies).

Cabernet goes best with this bold meal. Its deep, rich flavors accentuate the spices of the pepper filling, without overpowering the meal.

*This is for Erin and Mrs. Susan – it was so nice visiting with you!*