One Pot Dinner: Unstuffed Peppers

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I grew up eating Eastern European Stuffed Peppers. It was one of my favorite childhood dishes. I didn't particularly care for the peppers, but I loved the stuffing. I also loved the aroma the peppers provided but the texture and the taste - was not my thing.

Fast forward to adulthood and peppers are one of my favorite vegetables. But making that old school dish is not my favorite. Simply put: it's too much work and I don't know if you've noticed but I don't like recipes that require a lot of work.

Here is my version of STUFFED PEPPERS - the easy way: unstuffed.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
6-8 mini peppers, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 oz no salt tomato sauce
3 cups water (plus more if needed)
1 cup rice, rinsed not cooked
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (skip if you don't like it spicy)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup half & half or heavy cream

TIPS: You can make it vegetarian and use 1 found of chopped portobello mushrooms or black beans.

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add ground beef and brown it for about 5-7 minutes.
Chop your onions and garlic (you can use food processor, saves lot of time).
Next, wash your peppers, cut off the tops, dice them to your desired size or use food processor.
When the beef is browned, add peppers, onions, and garlic mixture. Sauté for another 5-6 minutes.
Add in the rinsed rice and mix. Toast it up a bit.
Next, add the spices.
Mix well and then add tomato sauce plus 3 cups of water. Stir and lower to a simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.
Stir every 5 minutes or so to avoid burning but also to make sure all of the rice is coated and cooks evenly. If it seems too thick, add 1/4 cup of water and stir again.
Just before it's finished after 15 minutes on low simmer, add 1/2 cup of half & half. It gives it a nice rich flavor and mouth feel.
Take off the heat, let it cool off for about 15 minutes and then serve.
Enjoy.
OPTIONAL: Top it with feta or shredded cheese.

Side note (note sponsored): I have been a Ninja costumer for almost 10 years. I have their food processors, coffee maker, smoothie maker and more. They have the best costumer service but honestly their products are fantastic. This is the chopper and food processor I use for all of my cooking, sauce making, smoothies, etc. It cuts my prep work in half and I would recommend it 1000 times over.