Great tasting bell peppers. The flavors from the ground beef and sausage permeate through the rice filing to give this recipe a delectable taste. With all of that wonderful cheese and creamy bechamel sauce on top really gives these peppers a rich taste.
Yield: 6
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Prep Time:
40 minutes
Cook Time:
45 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour 25 minutes
Great tasting bell peppers. The flavors from the ground beef and sausage permeate through the rice filing to give this recipe a delectable taste. With all of that wonderful cheese and creamy bechamel sauce on top really gives these peppers a rich taste.
Ingredients
- Peppers
- 6 large bell peppers (color is your preference)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage (Jimmy Dean)
- 1 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 bunch kale (chopped)
- 1 large onion yellow (diced)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese (freshly shredded)
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese (freshly shredded)
- 3 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
- 4 tbsp creole seasoning
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 2tbsp onion powder
- 1/4 cup black pepper
- Marinara Sauce
- 1 24 oz jar marinara sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp sazon total seasoning
- 3 tbsp Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp dried cilantro
- Bechamel Sauce
- 5 tbsp butter
- 5 tbsp flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk (heated)
- 3 tbsp creole seasoning
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
Instructions
Marinara Sauce
- Pour jar of marinara sauce in a small sauce pot. Add sugar, sazon total seasoning, Italian seasoning, Mrs. Dash, and cilantro.
- Bring to a simmer in medium heat and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
- Spread in the bottom of a 5 qt (11x15) baking dish. Set to the side.
Bell Peppers
- Slice the bell pepper in half from top to bottom. Remove the seeds and membranes. Clean peppers and place in a bowl. Set aside.
- Heat a large sauce pot on medium heat, add olive oil. Once heated add ground beef and sausage cook until brown, about 10-15 minutes. Drain grease. Add onion and kale. Cook until onion is soft and translucent 7-9 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Mix in rice, 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, basil, creole seasoning, cumin, onion powder, black pepper, and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.
- Time to stuff the peppers. Fill each pepper with the filling and arrange in baking dish on top of marinara sauce.
Bechamel Sauce
- In another saucepan, begin to heat milk.
- Meanwhile heat another pan on medium heat and melt butter.
- Once butter has melted whisk flour in and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour heated milk in and whisk together as you are pouring. Cook until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes, stir constantly. Remove from heat and stir in creole seasoning, parsley, and nutmeg.
- Pour Béchamel sauce over stuffed peppers and sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top.
Cooking Instructions
- Tent foil over the peppers and bake on 375 35-40 minutes or until peppers are soft. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-8 minutes until the cheese is browned.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Freezing Instructions
- Instead of baking wrap the peppers in two layers of foil, label, and freeze.
- Thaw in refrigerator one to two days before cooking.
- Tent foil over the peppers and bake on 375 35-40 minutes or until peppers are soft. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-8 minutes until the cheese is browned.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
In my house we all like different color bell peppers. So when making your bell peppers please use the color that your family likes. Also for the Bechamel sauce if you are like my family and like a lot of sauce please double the recipe. This is a true go to for me when I make my weekly freezer meals. If you are not one that likes all of the seasoning you are more than welcome to substitute the creole and sazon total seasoning for pink Himalayan salt or whichever you prefer.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
6Amount Per Serving Calories 1286Total Fat 77gSaturated Fat 34gTrans Fat 2gUnsaturated Fat 38gCholesterol 242mgSodium 8298mgCarbohydrates 77gFiber 11gSugar 27gProtein 75g
