Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

4 md Sweet red, green, orange, -peppers (about 1 1/4 lb)
-yellow, purple, or white Filling (recipes follow)

1. In 6-quart Dutch oven or saucepot, heat 4 inches water to boiling
over high heat. Trim off 1 inch from tops of peppers and remove
seeds. Coarsely chop tops; set aside. Add peppers to boiling water;
cook 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

2. Select and prepare a filling from recipes below. If directed in
filling recipe, heat oven to 400'F.

3. To bake peppers, arrange well drained peppers upright in 9-inch
cast iron skillet or shallow baking dish. If filling recipe does not
require baking peppers, arrange on serving platter. Fill and top
according to selected recipe. Serve immediately or, where filling
recipe indicates, bake 20 minutes or until filling is bubbly and top
has browned.

Macaroni-and-Cheese Filling: Heat oven to 400F. In heavy 1-quart
saucepan, stir together 1/2 C milk, 1 1/2 t cornstarch, 1/2 t salt,
1/4 t dried dillweed, and reserved chopped pepper tops. Heat to
boiling, stirring constantly. Fold in one 3-oz package cream cheese.
Remove from heat and pour mixture into 3 C cooked elbow macaronl
Divide mixture into prepared peppers. Sprinkle 1/2 C shredded
Monterey Jack or white Cheddar cheese flavored with jalapenos over
stuffed peppers. Bake as directed above.

Traditional Rice Filling: Heat oven to 400'F. In medium-size skillet,
saute 1/2 lb ground beef, 1/2 C coarsely chopped onion, and reserved
chopped pepper tops until meat is well browned. Stir 1 T flour into
one 8-oz can stewed tomatoes until smooth. Stir tomatoes into beef
mixture; heat until thickened. Stir in 2 C cooked rice and 1/2
teaspoon dried basil. Divide into prepared peppers. Sprinkle 1/2 C
sbredded sharp Cheddar cheese over tops of peppers. Bake as directed
above.

Chicken and Broccoli Filling: Thinly slice 1 lb skinless, boneless
chicken breasts and cut up 2 C broccoli flowerets. In large skillet,
melt 2 T butter or margarine. Add chicken strips; cook until well
browned on one side-about 5 minutes. Turn chicken strips; add broc-
coli flowerets and reserved chopped pepper tops. Stir-fry until
broccoli is just tender-about 6 to 8 minutes. In a small bowl, beat
together 1/2 C orange juice, 1/2 C dry white wine, 2 t soy sauce,
and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Add mixture to skillet and cook,
stirring, until sauce is thickened. Divide filling into prepared
peppers and sprinkle 2 T sliced natural almonds over tops. Serve
immediately.

Primavera Filling: In large skillet, melt 2 T butter or margarine.
Add 1/4 C chopped green onions, 3/4 C each thinly sliced carrots,
yellow squash, and zucchini, 1/2 C fresh or frozen green peas, 1 C
coarsely chopped plum tomatoes, 2 cloves sliced garlic, and reserved
chopped pepper tops. Saute until vegetables are just tender. Divide
into prepared peppers. Sprinkle 1/4 C toasted pine nuts over peppers
and serve.

Vegetable-Chili Filling: In large skillet, heat 1 T olive or
vegetable oil. Saute 3/4 C sliced onion, 3/4 C sliced sweet pepper, 3
cloves garlic, sliced, and reserved chopped pepper tops until golden.
Stir in one 8-oz can red kidney beans, drained, and 1 C fresh or
frozen whole-kernel corn. Stir 1 T yellow cornmeal and 1 to 2 t chili
powder into one 8-oz can stewed tomatoes. Stir tomatoes into
vegetable mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring occa- sionally. Simmer
10 minutes. Divide into prepared peppers. Sprinkle 1/2 C corn chips
over peppers and serve.

Scallop-Pesto Filling: in large skillet, melt 2 T butter or
margarine. Add 1 large carrot, thinly sliced, 1/4 lb green beans,
sliced diagonally into 1-inch pieces, 1/4 lb mushrooms, thinly
sliced, and reserved chopped pepper tops. Saute until just tender.
Add 1/2 lb bay scallops. saute until scallops are opaque and liquid
has evaporated. Make pesto sauce: In blender or food processor fitted
with chopping blade, blend or process 1/2 C packed fresh basil
leaves, 1/4 C fresh parsley leaves, 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese, 3 T
olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, sliced, and 1/4 C chopped walnuts until
smooth. Toss scallops mixture with some pesto sauce. Divide into
prepared peppers. Spoon remaining pesto sauce over peppers. Serve
immediately.

Country Cooking/Summer/94 Scanned fixed by Di and Gary

Browse by categories