But the clouds grew darker and darker and kept rolling on over, no matter how hard I wished for them to be gone! About 9 pm last night, the first sprinkling of rain could be heard on my tarped, tin roof....this morning, it was pouring down. Not unusual for my beloved state of Washington, mind you! My husband wanted Stuffed Peppers tonight for dinner, so off we went, in the pouring down rain to the grocery store across town, not our usual. They had red and green bell peppers on sale 2 for 98 cents, so we got one of each. They are also the only grocery store in town to stock shallots in their produce department.
We picked up just shy of a pound of lean ground beef for around $2. This is how I make meatloaf. As a lot of you know, if you read my blogs, I have a big DISLIKE of ketchup...really, that's putting it mildly...let's face it and be honest, I hate the stuff and think it's the most disgusting concoction on earth. Anyway, for 2 servings (1 pepper each), the ingredients are: 2 bell peppers, whatever colors you like: red, green, yellow...heck, I even saw a purple one once, I think...; a pound or so of burger...
One minced shallot, unless they come like these double ones, if that's the case, just use one!
The spices I used are: Sicilian sea salt & coarse ground black pepper to taste; 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; a teaspoon each of worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar and tamari (aged soy sauce, in the Asian section of your supermarket)...
I like garlic, so I used 2 finely minced cloves, if you don't like it so much, just use one or none, depending on your tastes.
2 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesano-reggiano (I hope I spelled that right!) cheese...
1/3 cup of Italian-style bread crumbs; 1 egg (I hope you get double yolkers like I did); 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle hot sauce...add more if you like things more spicy...and the kicker ingredient...1 big tablespoon of currant jelly...I know it's sounds completely off the mark, but trust me, it makes a huge difference because there is not much liquid in here, it helps to bind.
And mix this all up with clean hands.
Still reading after the currant jelly?
Anyway, back to the recipe, I used 1 one green and 1 red bell pepper, cut in half and the guts taken out...
Divide the meat mixture into fourths and stuff those peppers...
I cut 2 strips of bacon in half and placed a half-strip of center cut applewood smoked bacon over each pepper half and used half of a jarred, roasted red pepper cut into strips and draped it over the whole works...I added about a tablespoon of water to the bottom of the baking dish...this is my 9 x 9 glass pyrex and I love it!
Cover with foil and put in a pre-heated 350 degree oven...I hope your oven is bigger than mine! The foil is on the bottom and the baking pan is on the rack to diffuse the heat and get rid of the hot spots in there that will burn food quicker than anything! I have heard that a tile will help with this problem, but the foil and baking sheet do the trick, too!
Horseradish Mashed Potatoes for 2
2 medium sized russett potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
2 tablespoons butter
1tablespoon heavy cream
1 -2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Salt and pepper, to taste...I, again used my standard coarse sea salt and coarse ground black pepper...I like the taste!
Basically, make mashed potatoes, you all know how...using all the above! These are really grubbin'!
And this was my Washington Rainy Night Comfort Food....
I hope you enjoy!
