Impress Your Date With Perfect Stuffed Bell Peppers

 So you finally worked up the courage to ask that girl from the gym or the guy from the coffee shop to dinner and they said yes. Now that the euphoria has passed you are starting to panic because you remembered something. You can't cook! Don't hyperventilate on me. It's time to take your fate in your own hands and learn how to make at least one meal before you turn 40. It could be the most important meal of your life. No pressure.

 Ok. Now that we have set the stage let's get down to business. If you are looking for a tasty meal that will really wow your date and at the same time won't end up with your kitchen looking like a battlefield, you've come to the right place. Stuffed bell peppers are perfect. The combine tasty ingredients in no time to form a meal that will make people think you can cook after all.

Before you start randomly combining ingredients, here's what you are going to need:

4 Bell Peppers
1 Lb of ground beef.
1 Package of Uncle Ben's Long Grain Instant Rice in the microwaveable pouch.
1/4 of An onion.
1 Fresh tomato.
1 6.5oz can of mushrooms.
1 clove of garlic.
1 can of tomato sauce.
1 small package of cheddar cheese.
Salt and Pepper.

1 large skillet
1 sharp knife.
1 Cutting board.
1 Medium sized bowl.
1 8 x 8 glass baking dish.
1 large spoon.
Access to a microwave.
1 Spatula.

Are you ready? Feeling confident? You don't want to look foolish on the first date, do you? No? Then grip that knife and let's go.

Step 1 Selecting Perfection

 The most important part of making stuffed bell peppers is selecting the right peppers. You might think that all bell peppers are created equal but you'd be wrong. You have to account for interior size and stability. By interior size I mean the amount of space that is on the inside of the pepper. If you get one that is tall and skinny it isn't going to hold enough stuffing and then your date is going to be sitting there watching you eat. So make sure that the pepper is rounded in shape and that all of your peppers are as equal as possible.

 You also have to make sure that the pepper is stable. You're probably making that "The author is crazy face", aren't you? Bear with me on this. When you go to the grocery store you don't usually think about how peppers stand because they are jumbled together like LEGOs. When you pick one up, hold your hand palm up and see if the pepper will stand on its own. This is important so that when you put them in the baking dish they don't fall over and spill the stuffing out. This is something you likely won't discover until it is too late and your date has arrived. Pizza is not a good first impression. Trust me.

Comments

[beastymode00]

I added some conecuh sausage, balsamic vinegar, and crushed red pepper! If you ever want to kick it up a bit. :)

[RoboticKop]

hmm i made it and its a bit liquidy. Did i let the ground beef juices out for too long?

[orin2]

Hmm. Sorry to hear it. Could be your tomato sauce was more liquid than mine. Try half as much next time.

[RoboticKop]

This looks delicious. I will definitely make this for family dinners. Just one question, How much tomato sauce do you add in?

Thanks! i got another great dish to add to my cook book.

[orin2]

I used one can of tomato sauce. Glad you liked it!

[killerjackalope]

Very nice, a great variation for a starter are pepper halves, I did them when I did pizza from scratch - good first impression when it's homemade and the starter's a pretty looking pepper half, done with cheese, meat of your choosing and veggies...  

If you have ham or sandwich chicken and the ingredients kicking around these are also good snacks, plus that lonely pepper in the fridge gets used for good tastiness. They're a good way to use up leftover chilli too, granted if you fill the whole thing with a mix of chilli and cheese it becomes a mini meal. 

Last paragraph of random ideas, I swear - For the likes of sweet peppers and others that won't stand, fill them like normal, tie a slipknot in some string that'll survive the oven and hang from the rack of if it's got one, the rotisserie rod, though don't turn it on... 

Again, lovely project and a food I thoroughly enjoy making and eating, five stars.

[caitlinsdad]

 What would be impressive would be when they are taking a bite, they declare they are vegetarian.  Don't panic and say "Don't these new soy substitutes taste really good?"

Yum.  We usually drown the stuffed peppers with tomato sauce in the baking dish, will have to try it with the fruit chutney on the side,

[Danielfish]

Really great, delicious-looking instructable! I'm going to have to try this next time the girlfriend is over.

In fact, I might go and do this now! Thanks a bunch!