By Bryants arrived Tuesday evening. The twelve-day visit is underway. Brayden is ninety-two weeks old. The Fourth-of-July cookout at Aunt Linda’s was Wednesday afternoon — the Bryants made the drive from the Hampton Inn to Sapulpa with us, plus the whole family (Mama, Cody, Aunt Linda and Roy, Aunt Patty and Bobby with Hannah home from college, Roy Calloway, plus Harper and Justin and Hadley). Sixteen at the deck and yard.
The stuffed pepper skillet is the deconstructed weeknight version of stuffed peppers — sliced bell peppers, seasoned ground beef, cooked rice, tomato sauce, shredded cheese, all cooked in a single skillet on the stove. The dish gets the stuffed-pepper flavor profile without the longer hollow-and-stuff-and-bake routine.
The technique question on the skillet form is the layering. The peppers go in first to develop the small caramelized edges. The ground beef goes in second. The cooked rice and the sauce go in third. The cheese goes on top for a covered-melt finish. The whole skillet is on the stovetop from start to finish — no oven required.
Sunday I made it. Dustin had two helpings. Brayden had a small portion of plain rice and a few small pieces of cooked pepper. The dish was the convenient mid-Bryant-visit weeknight option that did not require the longer prep cycles.
The blog’s small Sunday-publish rhythm continues. The catering business has been the small foreground of the small year’s work. The cookbook in its small online-store. The small recurring-clients (Singh family, Yates family, the corporate-luncheon brokerage) anchor the small reliable-revenue stream. The small one-off-jobs round out the small income.
Carol Bryant has been on the small Friday-call rhythm. Carol calls at five PM Tulsa time (six PM Memphis time). The call lasts twenty minutes. The conversation moves through Brayden, the small Bryant-cookbook collaboration, the small Memphis-news. The small grandmother-relationship continues to deepen.
Stuffed Pepper Skillet
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 5
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
- 2 cups beef broth
- 3 bell peppers (any color), diced
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Brown the beef. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until browned and no longer pink, about 6–7 minutes. Drain excess fat.
- Soften the vegetables. Add the diced onion and bell peppers to the skillet. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
- Build the base. Stir in the diced tomatoes (with liquid), tomato sauce, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Add the rice. Stir in the uncooked rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer for 18–20 minutes, until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Check and stir once halfway through.
- Melt the cheese. Remove the lid, sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over the top, and replace the lid for 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve straight from the skillet.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 720mg