Thursday, October 23, 2008

Greek Stuffed Peppers

Greek Stuffed Peppers!

So I was stumped once again for dinner. Imagine that. A freezer full of crap and I still have no idea what to make for dinner! So what did I do? I "twittered" it.

Peter from Kalofagas was the first to respond and his recipe sounded really good. All except for the fact that his recipe called for mint and dill, 2 of T.'s most hated things and tomato's, the oldest daughters nemesis. What was I to do? Should I substitute and change Peter's family recipe (his Mom's???)? No way, screw the rest of the family. I made it his way and guess what? They all loved it!!!

Just before they went into the oven

Piperies Gemistes (Stuffed Peppers)-Peter of Kalofagas

2 lbs. lean ground beef
12 red peppers, washed, tops cut and inside cored

2 medium onions, diced

1/3 cup olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup of fresh dill, finely chopped

2 tsp. fresh mint, finely chopped

1 cup of good tomato sauce (pomodoro)

1/4 cup arborio rice
salt and pepper to taste


  1. Wash then cut the tops off your peppers. Hollow out the peppers to rid them of any ribs or seeds. Reserve
  2. Place a large skillet on your stove and heat under medium high heat. Pour in your olive oil then add the onions and garlic and lower to medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes to soften the onions.
  3. Add your parsley, dill, mint and and tomato sauce and simmer until most of the liquid is gone and you have a thick mixture. Take off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Add your rice and ground beef to the onion/herb mixture and and mix all the ingredients using a wooden spoon. Add 2 tsp. of salt and pepper and mix. To taste for seasoning, take a spoonful of the mixture and fry it or cook it in the microwave to taste for seasoning. Afterwards, adjust the seasoning in the mixture to your liking.
  5. Using a spoon, stuff your peppers and line the bottom of a roasting pot. Pour 1 cup of water over the peppers and place them in a preheated 375F oven for 1 hour.
Hints: This is Peter's recipe but I wasn't sure if I was suppose to cook the rice or meat. I cooked the meat but not the rice. I wouldn't do either again next time. I would leave the rice raw and the meat.

I made these during the day and then T. heated them up for us for dinner as I was at Karate with oldest daughter. Delicious for a make ahead meal!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

18 comments:

Peter M said...

Judy, this post is a testament that mom's know best...you and my mom...good on ya for stickin' it to them! lol

So glad you tried and enjoyed the dish and I love seeing my name in "lights"!

Thanks, Mwah!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! This looks incredible Judy! Ain't that Peter just the best? :)

Darius T. Williams said...

Hey now - these are looking good. This is right up my alley - I love a great stuffed pepper!

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

Patsyk said...

Stuffed peppers are great! Funny how sometimes you can make food the family is most likely to dislike, then they eat it up like it's the best thing ever!

Cathy said...

Love stuffed peppers. Adding dill and mint sounds perfect.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I'd say this is the perfect way to enjoy these peppers. I love them!!

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Oh Peter these were so good. The only mistake I made was not making more. They ate them all up!

Hey Nikki-They were incredible and yes he is!

Hi DTW-These were definitely a great stuffed pepper.

Hi Patsyk-I think half the time if you don't tell them what they are eating you will be okay!

Hi Cathy these were really were good!

Thanks Val!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Yum -- and I have both dill and mint still in my herb garden! Now must rummage in the freezer and see what else is there.

floridafoodies said...

This recipe sounds great!

For those of you who who don't like green peppers, try yellow, orange or red instead. They're a little sweeter, and that made a world of difference when I first served stuffed peppers to my hubby and son. Neither one of them care for green peppers, but the ol' switcheroo changed their minds.

Claudia

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Isn't it funny when we think we don't like a particular ingredient and then eat it up when either (1) we don't know it's there or (2) the dish is just too good and I don't care? Looks yummy and Peter has great dishes that are extremely family-friendly.

Anonymous said...

This was one of my favorites when growing up -- but we didn't have the Greek spin on it. I don't know what ours was now that I think of it, but cabbage rolls were pretty similar and I liked those, too. You're right -- the meat and rice are uncooked. I can just taste them now. YUM!

Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer said...

WOW does that look DAMN good - I love stuffed peppers and Greek food is right at the top of my favorite food list so the combo of the two is a perfect blend!!

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Hi Lydia-Hope you have enough other stuff to make this it was delicious and would have made it again tonight but the fam. would kill me!

Hi Floridafoodies-I believe that Peter's recipe does tell that you can use red or other colors for a milder taste. Thanks for the tip.

Hey eating club-his dishes have been so well received by my family that if he tells me it's good I don't even question anymore!

Hey Kelly-These with the mint and dill were exceptional. I've had them the other way but these were done right!

Hey Cathy-It was a perfect blend for us too!

Aggie said...

Looks delicious, I just made stuffed peppers last week, they are my favorites. Will have to try Peter's mom's recipe, these look amazing!!!

Susan @ SGCC said...

These look amazing, Judy! Much better than my MIL's recipe (but don't tell her that).

sj said...

yum :) great looking peppers! I think I might have to try these too :)

Mike of Mike's Table said...

lol, glad you won them over with dill and mint! The peppers look great. I've borrowed some technique's from Peter's peppers before as well, and its definitely a winner.

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