Mama didn’t make stuffed peppers when we were growing up. As a result, I have never been enamored of them, but what’s not to like about cheesy beef and rice? I then realized the pepper was my problem. Stuffed bell peppers have to be cooked a long time to be tender and the resulting flavor dominates the milder beef and rice.
This flavor dynamic changes completely when using a thinner-walled mild pepper like a cubanelle. You can also swap out the “vessel vegetable” altogether. Try stuffing a small globe or cylindrical zucchini or a hollowed-out tomato. When I use vegetables such as these, I add the scooped-out flesh to the rice and beef mixture as well so as not to waste it.
recipe 
yields
Serves 4
Nonstick cooking spray
1 pound 90/10 ground sirloin
Salt and pepper
1 (8.5-ounce) pouch prepared quinoa and brown rice with garlic, such as Seeds of Change
½ cup tomato sauce or marinara sauce
4 cubanelle or banana peppers, halved lengthwise, cored and seeded, or combination of globe zucchini and tomato
¾ cup low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, for topping
Basil leaves, for garnish
Ingredients
steps
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Preheat the oven to 400. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add ground sirloin and season with salt and pepper. (If using scooped-out zucchini or tomato “insides,” add them here as well.)
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Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break the meat into smaller pieces, until the meat is cooked and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Using the spoon to retain the meat in the skillet, pour off most of the rendered fat or grease.
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Add the cooked quinoa blend and tomato sauce; stir to combine. (This makes about 3 cups of filling.)
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Spray an ovenproof skillet or casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Scoop the mixture into the prepared vegetables.
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Place the filled vegetables in the skillet. Top the vegetables withthe cheese, dividing the cheese evenly among the vegetables. Transfer to the oven and cook until the vegetables are tender, and the cheese is bubbly and melted, about 10 minutes for tomatoes, 20 minutes for cubanelle peppers; and 30 minutes for zucchini.
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Transfer to a platter. Garnish with basil and serve immediately.
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Recipe Adapted from
Bon Appetit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking, Revised and Updated, with New Recipes (University of Georgia Press).
