Stuffed Peppers

Another amazing recipe from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli and Peter Bronski.  I am very happy with how these turned out.

 I should mention a few things before I get to the rating though.  First, The recipe called for 3 bell peppers.  I used four, and still had 1.5 to 2 cups of stuffing left.  The recipe did not specif what size peppers to use-- small, medium or large.  Second, I needed to make the recipe for Jasmine rice before I could make the stuffed peppers.

I had had jasmine rice before.  My Aunt Geneva makes it, and it is delicious!  I have always wondered, and meant to ask her, about the distinct flavor.  If you never have tasted jasmine rice, you need to!  It is so flavorful.  I even found some organic, brown, jasmine rice at a local grocery store here in H-town, that I am excited to try.

As for their recipe for Jasmine rice, blah!  It called for a whole teaspoon of salt.  I checked, four times, making sure I wasn't misreading it, and then dumped it in.  It was SALTY!  Thankfully I was mixing it in with other things, so it wasn't that bad.  Once the peppers were all done, and we were eating I had forgotten how salty the rice had been.

Also worth mentioning is the difficulty I had with actually stuffing the peppers.  They all came out perfectly cooked, but to get them that way, you had to cook the peppers for 25 minutes first, and then stuff them, and then cook them for another 25 minutes.  It wasn't impossible, just kind of messy.  I couldn't hold the peppers in my hand to stuff them, they were too hot.

The recipe also calls for mozzarella for the tops of the peppers.  Since we can't have dairy, I did not put any on.  I was a bit worried that they wouldn't turn out as good.  I even tried to find some non-dairy mozzarella, but I didn't find any at the store I tried, so I just tried it with out.  It was still awesome, and I didn't have the extra calories.  Bonus!

Josh was especially found of this recipe.  He has liked everything I have made so far, but he seemed even more excited about this dish.  And I am right there with him.  This was a perfect mix of flavor and texture.

I would rate this recipe as follows:

*Difficulty: 4 out of 5 stars
     Like I mentioned above, it was a bit difficult to stuff the peppers.  Also, all the steps involved were some what tedious.  I couldn't just dump everything together and mix it and stuff it, I had to start with this, and then mix that, and then add this.  I read the recipe through 5 or 6 times, making sure I had each step right.  It could easily become second nature, though, as I make the recipe more and more, which I will be doing!

*Time: 4 out of 5 stars
     As mentioned in the difficulty category, the recipe was tedious.  It was a tad bit time consuming.  I had to wait for things to finish, before I could start the next step.

*Price: 5 out of 5 stars
     It's funny how I look at the ingredients I am buying in the store, as I put them in the cart, and I think to myself how expensive they are.  And then, when I get home, cook the meal, and do the math, they really aren't that expensive at all.  It just goes to show you how cheap it is to cook for yourself, rather than eat out.
     The total price for this meal, when I added an extra bell pepper, was $5.07.  I am sure if I had added cheese it would have driven the price up quite a bit.  But as is, it was very cost effective, and very delicious!
    Oh, I should mention that I counted the ground turkey this recipe called for as only a $1 per pound, but, I think we actually paid $2.47 or something like that.  Josh bought it though, and it was turkey sausage, not just ground turkey, so that made it a bit more expensive.

*OHA: 4.5 out of 5 stars
     I don't normally buy ground turkey, unless it is on sale for under $1.50 a pound.  I found some at Meijer once for $1 per pound, and bought a ton of it.  I don't use it for recipes that need that beefy flavor.  I use it in dishes where there is so much flavoring, that the flavor of the meat doesn't really matter.

*Yum Factor: 5 out of 5 stars
     As my kids like to sing, "So yummy, so yummy, so yummy!"  Of course they were NOT singing that the night I made this.  But, that's okay.

*Calories: 5 out of 5 stars
     126 calories for one stuffed pepper.  The recipe has you cut the peppers in half lengthwise, and that is what I am talking about, one half of the pepper, stuffed with about 2/3 cup of the rice and meat mixture.  I ate 3 for dinner!  It was great!

*Over all rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars