Stuffed Bell Peppers

These are yummy and easy. They are always a crowd pleaser, and make you look like a great cook! Serve with a side salad and some squash fries for an easy meal. You can also do this same recipe with zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash, tomatoes, you get the idea.

 

Makes: ~ 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 
  
  2 tablespoons olive oil


• 
  
  1 lb. ground meat 93% fat free


• 
  
  ½ cup onion, diced


• 
  
  ½ teaspoon garlic powder


• 
  
  6 medium bell peppers, tops removed and seeds removed (reserve tops)


• 
  
  2 cups spaghetti sauce

 

Directions:

1. 
   

   Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

   
   


2. 
   

   Wash bell peppers. Cut off the tops and remove the seeds from the peppers. Save the tops.

   
   


3. 
   

   Chop up the tops of the peppers.

   
   


4. 
   

   Heat sauce pan on medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan.

   
   


5. 
   

   Brown meat, peppers, and onions for about 15 minutes, or until the meat is browned and onions are translucent.

   
   


6. 
   

   Add garlic powder to the pan and mix together.

   
   


7. 
   

   Mix about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce into meat mixture.

   
   


8. 
   

   Place bell peppers in a baking dish.

   
   


9. 
   

   Spoon the meat mixture into the peppers.

   
   


10. 
    

    Bake the peppers at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

    
    


11. 
    

    Just before serving, heat the remaining spaghetti sauce, and serve the peppers topped with the remaining spaghetti sauce. Each pepper is one serving.

    
    

Tips ‘n’ Tricks:

• 
  
  Don't let the number of steps fool you here - this recipe is EASY. Give it a try!


• 
  
  This is another recipe that’s easy to customize to your family’s tastes. Pick a vegetabe - any vegetable, and you can probably stuff it.


• 
  
  If the tops of the peppers start cooking too fast or looking dried out, just cover the baking dish with foil and keep baking.

Baked Cabbage Rolls

 

Yummy and easy to make!

Makes: ~ 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (turkey, beef or pork) 93% fat free

1 jar Bertolli spaghetti sauce (I use the olive oil, basil, garlic organic kind)

1 head of cabbage

½ teaspoon garlic powder

 

Directions:

1. 
   

   Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

   
   


2. 
   

   Wash the cabbage thoroughly.

   
   


3. 
   

   Steam the cabbage. Place cabbage in large pot with lid and fill with about 1 inch of water. Heat pot on high heat until water boils. Keep the lid on the pot to make sure the steam really works. Steam for about 7 minutes.

   
   


4. 
   

   While the cabbage is steaming, spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

   
   


5. 
   

   Place ground meat in a medium-sized bowl.

   
   


6. 
   

   Add about ¾ cup of the spaghetti sauce and the garlic powder into the ground meat.

   
   


7. 
   

   Mix the meat mixture.

   
   


8. 
   

   Remove cabbage from pot (carefully – cabbage will be hot).

   
   


9. 
   

   Remove the limp cabbage leaves and set aside. You will need to cut the leaves near the core on the bottom of the cabbage head. If you cannot remove 12-15 leaves, then remove as many as you can and re-steam the rest of the cabbage head until you get about 12-15 leaves.

   
   


10. 
    

    Take one cabbage leaf and place about 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture into the leaf. Roll the leaf like a taco or burrito, tucking in the sides of the leaf.

    
    


11. 
    

    Place the cabbage roll into the greased baking dish with the seam side down.

    
    


12. 
    

    Continue making cabbage rolls until the pan is full.

    
    


13. 
    

    Pour about ½ cup of spaghetti sauce over the cabbage rolls.

    
    


14. 
    

    Place foil tightly over the pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

    
    


15. 
    

    Just before serving, heat the remaining spaghetti sauce, and serve it with the baked cabbage rolls. Each serving is about two cabbage rolls.

    
    

Tips ‘n’ Tricks:

• 
  
  Don't be intimidated by the number of steps here - this is really easy to make!