This recipe has a special importance to me. This was a dish my Grandmother frequently made while I was growing up. Stuffed green peppers are not at all uncommon, and I would imagine most people have probably tried them at one time or another. For me, taking a bite of these will always take me back to my childhood, and going over to my Grandmother’s house for dinner. She made this for our family on Sunday, and I just knew I had to share the recipe.

If you haven’t been able to tell yet, I have a bit of a sweet tooth. I think stuffed green peppers are traditionally a little more savory, but the large amount of brown sugar in the tomato sauce in this recipe adds a very pleasant sweetness. I often try to find ways to cut back on the cheese in dishes, because I think the taste is frequently lost, which means it is nothing but added calories. The Parmesan cheese sprinkled over top of this dish is very important, and is certainly one instance where I would not be stingy.

I have tried several other recipes for stuffed green peppers in the past, and none have even come close to meeting the flavor that oozes from every bite of this dish. I even tried to duplicate it on my own, but I was never able to get it to taste just right. When I asked my Grandmother what she used, she had difficulty listing off the ingredients, because she is one of those amazing cooks who uses recipes as a general guideline and tosses in “a little bit o’ this and a little bit o’ that”. Now, I know what I was missing when I tried making this on my own… spices! She adds quite a bit of cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, etc. and I was trying to go more for Italian types of spices.

Question of the Day: What dishes take you back in time down memory lane?

Stuffed Green Peppers

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INGREDIENTS

• 6 medium green peppers
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup cooked rice
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (the crumbled kind)
• 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (not firmly packed)
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• scant 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• scant 1/8 tsp. cumin
• scant 1/8 tsp. ginger
• dash of ground cloves

METHOD

1. Brown the beef and onion in a skillet.

2. Prepare rice as directed on package. Combine with the cooked beef and add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cut the tops off the green peppers, remove the seeds, and parboil for about 5 minutes.

4. While the peppers are boiling, combine the tomato sauce, brown sugar, and remaining spices. Mix the sauce with the beef and rice mixture, and use to stuff the green peppers.

5. There will probably be leftover meat and sauce mixture. Spread this over the tops of the peppers and around the sides of the dish. Sprinkle the peppers with Parmesan cheese, and bake at 350° for 20-25 min.