Lancaster County Stuffed Green Pepper Boats Food

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add about 2 inches of water to a large pot fitted with a steamer insert, and bring to a high simmer. Arrange the peppers in the steamer, cover the pot and cook, rotating the peppers as needed, until they are very tender and pliable, about 25 minutes. Remove the peppers with a slotted spoon, and drain upside-down on paper towels.
• Put the oil, onions and a pinch of salt in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the beef, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper, and cook, stirring and breaking the beef up, until browned and mostly cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Let cool in the skillet for at least 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, add the rice, parsley, 1 cup of the mozzarella, breadcrumbs, eggs and Worcestershire and mix to combine.
• Stand the peppers up in a 9-by-13 inch baking dish. If they fall over, cut away a little of the bottoms (without cutting through the pepper) to make a flat surface.
• Generously fill and pack the peppers with the meat-rice mixture. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Add just enough water to the pan to cover the bottom to help steam the peppers. Loosely cover with foil, and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and continue to bake for 10 minutes more.

LASAGNA PEPPER BOATS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange bell peppers, cut-side up, in a 10x15-inch baking dish; season with salt. Pour enough water into dish to make 1/4-inch depth.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano, and black pepper to ground beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes.
• Fill each bell pepper with a heaping tablespoon cottage cheese; top with a layer of mozzarella cheese, a layer of Cheddar cheese, and meat sauce. Sprinkle each 'boat' with more mozzarella cheese and Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until peppers are tender and cheeses are melted, 50 to 65 minutes.