Rosie Makes Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers.

 

 

 I've got a quick, simple, and versatile meal for you - stuffed peppers.  It's easy and everything comes together in minutes.

I had a package (1.75 pound) of hamburger meat (80/20), and I used about 1/4 of the meat.  This was enough to fill 2 Cubanelle peppers, halved.  When picking out long peppers like Cubanelles or Anaheims for stuffing, try to get fairly straight, even peppers, not curled-up ones.  Makes it easier to stuff.

Rosie's Stuffed Cubanelles

About 1/2 pound 80/20 ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

In a medium skilled over medium high heat, melt about 1 TB butter, then add hamburger meat, chopping it up with a wooden spatula, until almost browned.  Add in chopped onion and cook until meat is nicely browned.  

Season to taste with:

kosher salt (about 1/2 tsp)

onion powder (about 1/2 tsp)

garlic powder (about 1/2 tsp)

cumin (about 1 tsp)

Cut stem ends off 2 Cubanelle peppers and slice in half  lengthwise.  Scrape out seeds and any of the white rib.

Spoon cooked beef mixture into peppers, mounding nicely.

I had leftover red onion in the fridge, so I chopped a bit of that, along with the last tomato (chopped) and jalapeño (minced)from the garden, and topped the meat, along with some chopped smoked red pepper.

Grate a decent amount of Pepper Jack cheese over top and give it a go under the broiler (450°) until cheese is melty and gooey.

Pick some cilantro and chop to sprinkle over top.  If you're not in the cilantro camp, chop some fresh parsley and pretend you like cilantro.

Rosie Note:  Now, here's where you can be a bit creative and versatile and get rid of stuff that would ordinarily stay hidden in your fridge until you found it behind something or other and it would need throwing out. 

Before stuffing the peppers with the meat and onion mixture, check what's leftover in the fridge.  If you have some rice or black beans or corn or black olives, add it to the stuffing.  I've also been known to chop up a bit of pepperoni and tuck it in the peppers.

Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired, but I think it's just fine on its own.

Cubanelles stuffed with cooked ground beef, chopped onion, tomato, and roasted red peppers.

Give it some Pepper Jack lovin'.

Quick trip under the broiler.

Add some cilantro.

Enjoy.

Mr. Hawthorne Makes Pepper Parfaits.

Previously, Mr. Hawthorne made refried beans and Mexican rice from Diana Barrios Trevino's Los Barrios Family Cookbook. I'm quite impressed with the man right now. He hardly ever goes by a recipe, unless he's making a cake or a pie and for the past month or so, he's been making several recipes from Los Barrios. He's canned the Salsa Ranchera and the Salsa Verde using our homegrown tomatoes, peppers, and tomatillos. Then came Irene. And sadly, there are no more tomatoes, no more peppers, no more tomatillos.

So, Mr. Hawthorne stopped at the produce market on his way home this afternoon. By the way, I just put a cheese souffle into the oven. Recipe later. And now, Mr. Hawthorne takes over the kitchen. He will be making Moreover Pepper Parfaits.

Here's Mr. Hawthorne's Mexican rice from Los Barrios Family Cookbook. He's going to doctor it up a bit.

He has two green peppers ready to stuff and he's working on chopped green, red peppers, white onion, and chorizo to add to his Mexican rice.

Mr. Hawthorne fried up his chorizo in a little olive oil.

Add in the chopped onion and peppers.

Add in the Mexican rice.

Heat through over low heat, stirring.

A little Jalapeno Mexican Hot Sauce ...

... couldn't hurt this at all. Mr. Hawthorne is ready to stuff.

Remember he's making parfaits so there's a method here. His bottom layer was refried beans.

Next a Queso Fresco layer.

Rice layer. I didn't show you the next layer on top of the rice. And it's very important to Mr. Hawthorne. After the rice, he put on a thin layer of refried beans ...

... the reason being that he didn't want the next layer of cheese to melt down into the rice. I'd have been perfectly down with that, but this is Mr. Hawthorne's Pepper Parfait.

Top with jappy jalapenos.

Mr. Hawthorne is going to cook his Pepper Parfaits in a bain Marie. Pour water in the baking dish halfway up the side.

After about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven, I suggested he put a slice of Mozzarella cheese on top and melt that.

Total cook time: about an hour

Pepper Parfait!

I never met a parfait I didn't like.

Mr. Hawthorne Makes Dinner.

Mr. Hawthorne is making dinner tonight. For joy!

Apparently we're having stuffed peppers. Those are sweet, not hot, peppers, and I want to grow them in my garden this summer. They're the perfect size. Mr. Hawthorne sliced off the tops and cleaned out the seeds before stuffing.

Apparently, Mr. Hawthorne is Semi-Ho'ing dinner. Unbeknownst to me, he tossed in a few extra items in the basket while we were at Food Lion - Rice-A-Roni Spanish Rice and a package of shredded Mexican cheese. Usually, I'm on top of things in the supermarket, but somehow these items got past me. I could have whupped up some excellent Spanish rice and I'm perfectly capable of grating my own cheese, thankyouverymuch.

Mr. Hawthorne stuffed the peppers with the rice and cheese, then secured the tops with toothpicks.

Mr. Hawthorne is going to batter and deep fry these babies. At least he didn't Semi-Ho the tempura batter: 3/4 cup cornstarch 3 cups cake flour 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp Kosher salt Mix 3 parts tempura mix with 2 parts sparkling water. And he used club soda. I'd have to have a side-by-side tasting to tell the difference.

I liked these glass beads on my counter top.

Mr. Hawthorne's fry station - stuffed peppers, tempura batter, hot oil. I'm going to clean the kitchen tomorrow. Really I am. That corner is killing me.

Just a few stuffed peppers at a time. You don't want to crowd the oil and decrease the temperature.

Drain on paper towels.

Fried stuffed peppers and fried sliced pickles.

What? You never had fried pickles? Try 'em!

The squiggle down the center is Rosie's Pig Shack Sauce, her excellent version of Boar and Castle Sauce. On the left is my Mango Habanero Pineapple Salsa. On the top right is Mr. Hawthorne's Tartar Sauce and the bottom right is a delicious Remoulade Sauce. I got the recipe from Mark, the owner of Lucky 12 Tavern in Nags Head.

Perfectly fried. Excellent. Good job, Mr. Hawthorne.