the old stand-by
i made stuffed peppers today with the intent of freezing all of them for later. they're so easy to make, and they freeze & reheat fairly well. plus, mine are vegan!
the red and yellow peppers seemed to stay firm during the parboiling process, but the greens were weaker this time around. by the time i got to stuffing them, the greens were falling apart they were so soft. oops! so, the red and yellows went to the freezer, and i'll eat the greens sometime later this week. nice and colorful fruit for being the middle of winter. yum!
Ingredients:
6 Bell Peppers
1 Box of Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice (Check ingredient list since they have a couple of options - I use the one that has both rice and vermicelli mixed)
Olive Oil
1 16-oz jar of salsa
1 12-oz pkg of frozen veggie crumbles (I use Morning Star Farms)
Fill a large pot just over halfway with water and begin to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut around and pull off the top of each bell pepper (similar to when you carve a pumpkin) being careful not to poke thru the pepper with your knife. Dump out as many seeds as you're able. Scrape the inside of the pepper with a spoon to remove the inside rinds. Rinse out any remaining loose pulp or seeds.
Fill the pot with your peppers (I have to do this twice, b/c I can only fit about 4 peppers into my pot at once) and parboil for about 3-4 minutes. You want the peppers to be a little tender but still firm. Drain and place peppers aside, upside-down to leak any extra water.
Prepare the Rice-a-Roni almost to the package instructions. However, instead of margarine, use olive oil, and instead of a can of tomatoes, use the jar of salsa. Stir in the veggie crumbles when you add the salsa, and simmer just as the package instructions state. Once the rice mix is ready, stuff your peppers with it - the mix will need to be packed down some as you stuff.
If you're going to freeze the peppers, stop now. Lightly wrap them under plastic wrap on a freezable dish/pan and leave in the freezer overnight. Once frozen, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or a freezer bag with as much air as possible sucked out. Thaw in the fridge about 8-24 hours before you plan to bake.
When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 375-400 F. Place the pepper(s) into a shallow baking pan and cook for about 15 minutes (might take up to a half hour for a thawed pepper). Serve hot.
the red and yellow peppers seemed to stay firm during the parboiling process, but the greens were weaker this time around. by the time i got to stuffing them, the greens were falling apart they were so soft. oops! so, the red and yellows went to the freezer, and i'll eat the greens sometime later this week. nice and colorful fruit for being the middle of winter. yum!
Ingredients:
6 Bell Peppers
1 Box of Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice (Check ingredient list since they have a couple of options - I use the one that has both rice and vermicelli mixed)
Olive Oil
1 16-oz jar of salsa
1 12-oz pkg of frozen veggie crumbles (I use Morning Star Farms)
Fill a large pot just over halfway with water and begin to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut around and pull off the top of each bell pepper (similar to when you carve a pumpkin) being careful not to poke thru the pepper with your knife. Dump out as many seeds as you're able. Scrape the inside of the pepper with a spoon to remove the inside rinds. Rinse out any remaining loose pulp or seeds.
Fill the pot with your peppers (I have to do this twice, b/c I can only fit about 4 peppers into my pot at once) and parboil for about 3-4 minutes. You want the peppers to be a little tender but still firm. Drain and place peppers aside, upside-down to leak any extra water.
Prepare the Rice-a-Roni almost to the package instructions. However, instead of margarine, use olive oil, and instead of a can of tomatoes, use the jar of salsa. Stir in the veggie crumbles when you add the salsa, and simmer just as the package instructions state. Once the rice mix is ready, stuff your peppers with it - the mix will need to be packed down some as you stuff.
If you're going to freeze the peppers, stop now. Lightly wrap them under plastic wrap on a freezable dish/pan and leave in the freezer overnight. Once frozen, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or a freezer bag with as much air as possible sucked out. Thaw in the fridge about 8-24 hours before you plan to bake.
When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 375-400 F. Place the pepper(s) into a shallow baking pan and cook for about 15 minutes (might take up to a half hour for a thawed pepper). Serve hot.