Mama Dear's Stuffed Peppers

Last week was my (hopefully) last spring break ever, and unfortunately it turned out to be a little tumultuous. This meant that when I got home, I was in major need of comfort food, stat. One recipe immediately came to mind: the stuffed bell peppers my dad made when I was little.

Pick peppers that are similar in shape
and have flat bottoms.

As a kid, I used to love sitting in the kitchen watching my dad cook and stuff peppers was by far my favorite dish in my dad's repertoire. Back then I wasn't too fond of the actual pepper--I was more of a stuffing only gal. Of course, tastes change as you get older and now I think the roasted pepper is the best part of the dish! Even though it's been boiled and roasted, the pepper adds a firm texture that provides a nice contrast to the stuffing.

I did some digging around at my mom's house and found my dad's cookbook where he had handwritten the recipe for stuffed peppers. I was surprised to learn that the recipe is actually credited to my great-grandmother, whom my dad's generation lovingly referred to as Mama Dear.

The stuffing needs to be
a thick, paste like consistency.

I had no idea my family had been eating these peppers for over four generations! I stuck pretty true to her recipe but made some minor changes, mostly to satisfy my love for heat.

*For a more traditional take, simply omit the hot peppers and Sriracha sauce.

Of note, after stuffing the peppers, I had about a half cup of the stuffing leftover. Scrambled with some eggs, it made a fantastic breakfast for dinner the next day! I love when a recipe can do double duty.

Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4

• 4 large green bell peppers
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 pan cornbread, crumbled
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 yellow caribe peppers (or jalapenos), diced
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 tsp. oregano
• Sriracha or your favorite hot sauce
• 5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350. Remove the tops of the bell peppers and seed, reserving and dicing the tops. Boil peppers until they turn color but are still firm, about 3-5 minutes. Drain upside down.

3. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, bell peppers and hot peppers and saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Add ground beef and continue to cook until browned.

4. To the skillet, add crumbled cornbread, tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, oregano and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine thoroughly. Add salt, pepper and sriracha* to taste. Mix well and stuff into peppers.

5. Place peppers in baking pan and add remaining 1/2 cup water. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the tops of the peppers form a golden crust.

*I used approximately 1 tsp. of sriracha