Grandma's cooking...

Our grandma was a wonderful cook, and although we didn’t really have the opportunity to experience her cooking, (she passed away when we were 15 yrs. old) except for the holidays, we know she was a good cook because for one, our mom has told us so and second, the dishes our mom cooks, are the dishes our grandma cooked and taught our mom.

One particular dish that brings such comfort to both of us, the dish that we’ve been eating since we were little girls (we weren’t and are not picky eaters!), is the Stuffed Bell Pepper. Grandma’s recipe is a basic one; the filling primarily consists of two main ingredients, ground beef and rice. It’s a cheap dish actually, but it’s a good one.

When we made the Stuffed Bell Pepper for dinner the other night, there was one ingredient (well, there are about two other ingredients that we changed) that we added….bacon. We thought it would give off a really good flavor, throughout the filling, as it was baking in the oven; which is exactly what happened. We think Grandma would have loved the addition of bacon.

Without further ado, we would like to share her recipe with you. We think Grandma would be thrilled to know that her recipe is posted on the internet.

~ Enjoy! ~

J and J

Grandma’s Stuffed Bell Peppers

Serves 4


4 medium sized green bell peppers, tops trimmed (about ½”), hollowed out and blanched.
1 lb. ground beef
2 tsp. thyme leaves, finely chopped (this is another addition that we added)
1 cup cooked rice
½ cup frozen peas
Diced bell pepper cut from the tops that were trimmed.
½ cup shredded mozzarella (Grandma would use American cheese, but we’re not big fans of it so we opted for mozzarella)
¼ cup evaporated milk
4 Tbsp tomato sauce (Grandma used canned tomato sauce)
4 slices/strips bacon


Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a large sauté pan, brown and cook the ground beef along with the thyme, peas and diced bell peppers; season with salt and pepper. When the beef is cooked and the bell peppers soft, add the rice and mix together. Stir in the evaporated milk and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the mozzarella cheese; mix together. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Place the bell peppers in a baking dish standing up and scoop the filling mixture into each (the filling makes just enough to slightly mound into each pepper).
Add an additional 2 teaspoons of tomato sauce on top of the filling and place 1 strip of bacon, cut in half, on top of the filling making a criss-cross pattern (x). Place in the oven and bake until the bacon is cooked and filling is heated through, about 25-30 minutes.

~ Enjoy! ~