Green Pepper Boats

Green peppers make perfect natural, edible, serving dishes. As a child growing up we frequently ate them baked in the oven & stuffed with meatloaf (we called them monkey brains) but through the years I've learned they can be stuffed with a variety of things, baked, or eaten fresh. This is one of my favorite quick dinners to make. If you like to eat light fresh meals then you'll love it too. If you are like my husband (hamburger & fry guy) then you'd probably prefer them monkey brain style. 

You will need:
1 cup of rice 
1 cup dry Chinese noodles 
1 cup of cheese (colby jack)
1 can of olives
1 can of cream of chicken soup 
1 can of pineapple tidbits 
5 stalks of celery
5 green onions
1 green pepper per every 2 dinner quests


1. Start your rice cooking as directed. (i use my handy rice cooker)
2. Meanwhile chop up your celery, green onions, and olives & drain your pineapple
3. Toss them all together in a large bowl
4. Heat up the cream of chicken soup & thin it (with milk or water) to about a gravy like consistency. I usually do this in the microwave for about 3 minutes.
5. Add your dry noodles to the mix while your soup is heating
6. Once your soup & rice are done add them to the bowl as well.
7. Top it all off with your cheese while everything is still warm & mix it together. ( Your stuffing is ready)
8. Quickly wash & remove the stickers from your peppers
9. Cut them in half either vertically or horizontally & clean them out.
10. Fill each pepper boat with your stuffing & ENJOY ( you can refill it as many times as you would like)

We use to make this meal just as haystacks were you just build it yourself with whatever toppings you wanted. I decided that I hated doing it that way because then you get a lot of one thing left over & come up short on another. This way it's all just one dish. I like using the boats too because it keeps it contained & orderly instead of chasing each bite all over your plate, plus you can eat the pepper too. (If you like them fresh like I do) I have also found that one pepper boat is the perfect serving size for my children, so I don't end up over-serving/wasting as much food. I usually go back for seconds though! :) I hope you find this as helpful as I do when I'm rushed for dinner!