This is an ultra easy and fairly normal version of the classic stuffed pepper. I subbed wild rice, cooked in my rice cooker, for regular old white and venison for ground beef. Don’t skimp on the sauciness because it totally makes the dish. It’s pretty hard to f*ck up stuffed peppers unless they’re dry…NOOOObody likes dry stuffed peppers! I am a huge fan of prepping the peppers, as opposed to baking them from raw, too…huge time saver.
Venison Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground venison (or ground beef/poultry)
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- butter
- olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon basil
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- salt & pepper
- 3-4 bell peppers, halved
- 1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
- 1, 16-24 oz jar marinara sauce (I used wegman’s brand)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Put a pot or deep sauté pan with about 1” of water on boil. Rinse peppers, trim tops and innards, then slice them in half lengthwise. Blanch for about 3 minutes in boiling water, just to take the bite out of them but be careful because you don’t want soggy peppers! You could also do this step in the microwave. Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce into a baking dish and top with the drained peppers, cavity side up.
- In a separate pan, heat about a tablespoon each of butter and olive oil on medium high. Add onions and garlic, cook for about 1 minute, then add venison, spices, salt and pepper and brown until fully cooked.
- Mix rice, about a cup of marinara, and meat mixture until combined. Make sure you have enough sauce so that your mixture is moist, but not drippy. Stuff peppers, top with a healthy spoonful of sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Bake for about 25 minutes, uncovered. Serve and top with excess sauce scrounged from the bottom of the baking dish!
Lunches this week just got way more exciting.
Have a great week…4 days until freedom for me! I am 100% in the christmas spirit already…as shown by our stolen santa hats at the bar on saturday night and the copious amounts of christmas cookies I’ve made. And no, I do not know these boys hahaha.
