Jack-o'-Lantern Stuffed Peppers

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 70 min
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Description

In this recipe, orange bell peppers are stuffed with a meat, cheese, and rice mixture and looks just like scary little Jack-o'-lanterns in this fun dish.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
4 large orange bell peppers
1 pound ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 pinches cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 cups seasoned tomato sauce, warmed

Directions

1 Gather all ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) with oven rack in upper position. Coat a baking dish with olive oil.
2 Cut eyes, nose, and mouth into flattest side of each pepper, just like a jack-o'-lantern, using a small knife. Cut around seed pods and remove tops, trimming and discarding any seeds from under the stems. Trim white membranes from inside each pepper; shake out any seeds. Place peppers in the prepared baking dish.
3 Combine ground beef, cooked rice, Cheddar cheese, green onions, melted butter, ketchup, garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a bowl.
4 Divide and stuff beef mixture into peppers; cover with reserved pepper tops.
5 Wrap baking dish loosely with aluminum foil; place on a baking sheet.
6 Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove foil; continue baking until peppers are tender and ground beef is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more.
7 Place about 3 tablespoons warm tomato sauce on each plate; place stuffed peppers on top. Serve remaining sauce on the side.
8 Serve and enjoy!