With two picky eaters who LOVE sloppy joes and an overabundance of green peppers from my garden, I came up with this family favorite that also incorporates more vegetables into their mealtime!
Preparation Time
20 mins
Cooking Time
55 mins
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
Calories
420 Calories
Recipe Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Step 2
Mix tomato sauce and sloppy joe seasoning together in a bowl.
Step 3
Finely chop the usable 'meat' from the removed tops of each red bell pepper. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir red pepper pieces and garlic until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 4
Cook and stir ground beef and 1/2 cup beef broth into the red pepper-garlic mixture until ground beef crumbles are browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain off excess fat from the cooked ground beef. Add instant rice, 1/2 cup beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce; stir to combine. Simmer until the rice becomes tender and absorbs most of the liquid, about 10 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce mixture, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper to the beef mixture; stir to combine.
Step 5
Ladle about half the remaining tomato sauce mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Stuff each of the red bell peppers with ground beef mixture; arrange in the baking dish. Ladle the remaining tomato sauce mixture over each bell pepper. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
Step 6
Bake in the preheated oven until filling is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over the peppers. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 10 more minutes.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound ground beef
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
½ cup beef broth
1 (1.3 ounce) envelope sloppy joe seasoning
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup instant rice
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
5 red bell peppers, tops removed and set aside and seeds removed
