Stuffed Peppers and Meatloaf

Grandma Jo served the first stuffed peppers I ever ate. They were good, for having green peppers. I have never been a green pepper fan. When I discovered the colorful, thus ripe, sweet peppers; I immediately became a fan!

I remember Grandma serving Scott the filling, but no pepper. She explained her only brown-eyed grandson didn’t really care for green peppers. Aren’t grandmas the greatest?

 Stuffed peppers have a lot in common with meatloaf; in fact some people use the very same recipe for both. I have favorite recipes for each.

Stuffed Peppers
Pre-heat oven to 400F
Lightly grease casserole

4 sweet peppers (or green, if you prefer), tops cut off, seeds and ribs removed. If the peppers are long, I cut them in half length-wise.

1 lb lean ground beef
½ onion, diced small
2 ribs celery, diced small
1 carrot, grated
1 cup cooked rice
1 egg
1 cup homemade tomato sauce or 8 oz can
2 TBSP Heinz chili sauce
½ cup ketchup, mixed with ½ cup water

1. Mix ground beef, onion, celery, carrot, rice, egg, tomato sauce, and chili sauce together.
2. Lightly fill the peppers, mounding the filling on top, place in casserole.
3. Any extra filling can be placed in the bottom of the casserole.
4. Place, covered, in oven and bake 30 minutes
5. Uncover, pour ketchup/water mixture over all
6. Bake an additional 10 minutes

Serves 4

Italian version – substitute 1 TBSP chili powder, 1 tsp dry oregano, 1 TBSP fresh basil, and ¼ cup grated Romano Pecorino for the chili sauce. Instead of the ketchup, use ½ cup tomato sauce with 2 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp oregano add to the ½ cup water. Top with ½ cup grated Romano Pecorino, then bake the additional 10 minutes. YUM!

Did you see the Top Chef season where the poor Austrailian chef had never heard of Meatloaf before?  She described what she saw as a lump of disgusting gray meat!  I just wanted to bring her home and feed her a meatloaf sandwich.

My mom made the best meatloaf. I remember standing on a chair watching her mix the ingredients and being told to keep my little hands out of it. She really didn’t want me to touch the raw meat and try to eat it. I must have been about three at the time.

Mom’s recipe combined the Quaker Oats and Campbell’s Tomato Soup recipes. The best part of her meatloaf --- sandwiches the next day!

I have evolved my meatloaf to what Scott and I love today, I always make more than we’ll eat so we can have sandwiches the next day!

Meatloaf
Preheat oven to 400F

1 pound lean ground beef
½ cup onion, diced small
1 cup oatmeal, crushed saltine crackers, or bread crumbs depending on how I feel
1 egg
1 cup ketchup
1 tsp pepper

1. Mix together and place in a baking pan.*
2. Place in oven and bake 60 minutes
3. Pour ½ cup ketchup mixed with ½ cup water over the top and bake 15 minutes longer
4. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before moving to a serving plate.
5. Serve with ketchup or chili sauce.

Serves 6

I love this recipe with baked potatoes and sour cream. After I eat the interior of the potato, I add some of my meatloaf to the skin and eat with my fingers. (If we have company or are at a friend’s, I use a fork; I do have company manners.)

*MIL Pat gave me this cool meatloaf pan. It is a regular bread pan with an insert that allows the fat to drip out of the meat, like a very deep broiling pan. In fact, sometimes I cook my meatloaf on the broiling pan. That way I can cook a giant loaf for company and still reduce the amount of fat.

Meatloaf with Rice
I love this recipe. Scott and Selene will eat it.

Use the above recipe. Form the meatloaf in a circle around the outer edge of an 8x8 pan. The center should be open.

1. Place 1 cup of uncooked rice in the center of the meatloaf.
2. Add 2 cups water mixed with 1 cup ketchup.
3. Bake 60 minutes
4. Pour ½ cup ketchup mixed with ½ cup water over the top and bake 15 minutes longer
5. Serve from the baking pan

Serves 6