Stuffed Peppers with Rice and Ham
Easter is just around the corner, hence there will be plenty of ham left over for creating new meals.
It’s a very simple recipe, but the outcome is refreshing and delicious. Having ham sandwiches, ham and eggs, Chef’s salad with eggs and ham, and cubed ham with gravy over mashed potatoes, finally called for a new recipe.
My red, yellow, and orange peppers started to look like they have seen better days, so to save them from shriveling up further, I prepared a meal out of them…or I should say a couple of meals, as we had them once for dinner, once for lunch, and as a side dish with our grilled Italian Sausage dinner.
This recipe yields 4-8 servings.
Stuffed Peppers with Rice and Ham
Ingredients
- 4 Peppers (yellow, red, orange)
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 Tbs. Canola Oil
- 1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. Paprika
- 1 cup cooked ham, ground up in a food processor, or chopped fine
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Italian Parsley, chopped
- 1 cup broth (chicken or vegetable), or water
- 1 cup of Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- Rinse the raw rice with warm water, until the water is clear.
- Pour 2 cups of water into a 2 quart pot, salt lightly and bring to boil.
- Add 1 cup rice, semi-cover and bring back to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook until all water is absorbed. Remove into a large bowl to cool off.
- Cut each pepper in half lengthwise. Remove the stem and the seeds. Rinse.
- Add water to another 2 quart pot and bring to boil Place the pepper halves into the boiling water, and simmer for 5 minutes to soften them up. Remove and place with the hollow end up into a casserole dish.
- Meanwhile, add 2 Tbs. of canola oil to a pan, and saute the onions until translucent, then add chopped garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
- Combine the rice with the sauteed onion and garlic, the ham, salt and pepper, Italian Seasoning, paprika, egg and 1/8 cup of the chopped parsley. Mix well to form an even ham and rice stuffing.
- Add d 1/2 cup of broth or water into the casserole, then spoon the other 1/2 cup of broth over the top of the peppers.
- Cover the casserole with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Uncover for the last 5 minutes, sprinkle cheddar cheese over the tops of the peppers and continue baking until the cheese melts.
- Before serving, garnish with remaining chopped Italian Parsley.
- Serve hot.
Notes