Unstuffed Peppers

When I was growing up and my mom made stuffed peppers, no one ever ate the pepper. Well, they might have eaten a bite or two but not the entire thing. And they took forever to cook. Like, literally, forever. AAAAAnd there was a lot of clean-up. So let's recap: uneaten peppers, an eternity of cooking, and loads of dishes. Sounds like this trifecta of waste needs an overhaul. Well, you are in luck, friends. I have just the thing you need: unstuffed peppers. They are the trifecta of awesomeness. Here is why: only one pepper for the entire dish, only 15 minutes until you are ready to eat, and only one pan to cook in. Too good to be true, you say? Nuh uh. Don't believe me? Well, check it out!

Here it is. These unstuffed peppers have everything a stuffed pepper has. First, there's, well, peppers. There's tomato sauce, rice, and ground meat of your choice. I add some onion, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes just to jazz things up, and a dashity dash of granulated garlic. It's simple, easy, and tasty.

The best part is it can get put together very quickly. An easy way to always be prepared for a last minute dinner is to buy your pepper whenever you see a good one or a good deal on one, chop it up, and freeze it. That way, you don't have to make a special trip to get a pepper. You probably have everything else in your kitchen.

As far as kid friendliness goes, Avery requests this and tacos on a daily basis. If it was up to her, we'd eat pancakes, unstuffed peppers, and tacos on a rotation day after day. If it were up to Kendall, we'd have pickles. And the occassional pancake. And lots of milk. Anyway, unstuffed peppers are good for all.

Unstuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1 lb of ground meat of your choice (I use turkey, but beef is just as delish)
1/2 an onion, diced
1 pepper, seeded and diced
2 cans tomato sauce (8 oz each)
1 cup uncooked Minute rice
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

 Brown the ground meat until cooked and drain. Add onion and pepper, stirring for a few minutes until the onion begins to become translucent and the pepper softens. Add tomato sauce, rice, and seasonings. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Then eat, eat, eat.

P.S. We are in a massive heat dome...not a heat wave but a heat dome. We have not left the house in three days. I am reverting to my winter time tricks to keep the girls occupied and entertained. It really feels like winter being in the house so much, except there is more sunshine, less clothes, and tanner skin. But on a brighter note, we have been finding out all that our grill can do. We baked monster cookies and spinach dip bread bowls on it yesterday. I also discovered it can brown the heck out of a breaded pork chop and crisp it up right nice. I will share those recipes with you later this week. It doesn't like look we will get any relief for days and days...and days.

I also let the girls wear what ever they wanted since we aren't going anywhere. Here is what Avery picked out for Kendall:

She is dancing with her elbows, by the way. And she is sporting a coral colored shirt with a pink, yellow, and green skirt. Gorgeous! I love it. Oh, and see that monkey laying on the floor behind her? That is Kendall's new monkey courtesy of her Gma, aka, my mother. She loves it. It scares me. It's eyes are HUGE. I think they follow me.

And also, just one last observation about this here photo. Remember how I told you it was a billion degrees here and that our air conditioner has been on nonstop for days with no relief in sight? Yeah, I remember too. So why in the world are we all sitting her covered up in blankets? I mean, that blanket on the couch is being used as we speak by Miss Avery and I am also covered up. Seems a little off, doesn't it? My mom used to get so mad when I was younger and was covered up when the air conditioner was on. Hey, I get cold at 72 degrees, hot at 74. I need to find a land where we live in a perpetual 73 degrees of bliss. Alright. I will stop blabbering now. Stay cool peeps! Stacy, out.

P.S.S. My mom sure made a lot of appearances in this post. She's on the fast track to stardom!