Philly CheeseSteak Stuffed Peppers & Getting Ahead

This is going to be a hectic week, lots of coming and going, and that is going to seriously impact my resolve to eat the things I need to.   There will be plenty of temptation to just stop and pick something up for dinner instead of eating what is here at home.  That is just the way it goes sometimes, and if that happens this week, it isn't the end of the world, but in an attempt to fend that off, my meal plan this week has several easy choices, and also some component parts that I made on the weekend. 

I get a lot of mileage out of the filling for this recipe, and in the end, you could easily just stuff more peppers and freeze them for later, or use the filling for taquitos, tacos, quesadillas, etc. (i also supposed you could just cut the filling ingredients in half, but if your going to cut and chop. . .why not make it count)  I had about 2 cups of the meat filling leftover for Taquitos later in the week, and I also set aside 2 more cups of just the veggies for a spaghetti squash bake as well.  

• 3-onions sliced
• 8 bell peppers, 2, sliced, 6 halved and de-seeded, whatever color you like, I used a combo pack of red, orange, & yellow
• 8oz-sliced mushrooms
• 1lb ground beef or turkey
• 2 cups cooked white or brown rice
• 6 slices pepper jack cheese
• 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or cheese blend of your choice

Preheat oven to 400°

Whether or not you do this next step, is completely up to your tastes.  I put the peppers in the baking pan and I go ahead and just pop them in the oven, I like my peppers more cooked through, and not that crispy, so I like to start softening them up while I make the filling. 

In a skillet that will hold all the ingredients (save the halved peppers of course), add a tablespoon or so of olive oil and sauté the sliced onions, sliced peppers, and sliced mushrooms.  Add a touch of salt and pepper and cook them for about 6-8 minutes until softened and starting to brown.  Remove the vegetables to a bowl and set aside for a minute.

This is for spaghetti squash bake for
some lunches 

Place the skillet back on the heat, and start browning the meat, when you have browned the meat, drain off any fat.

Add the vegetables, rice, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese back into the skillet and stir to combine until the cheese has melted.

If you put the peppers in the oven, take them out now.  Place half a slice of the pepper jack cheese into the bottom of each pepper half, and then top and fill the pepper half with the meat & veggie filling.  Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over the peppers. 

The original recipe calls for cooking the peppers in the oven for 15-20 minutes, but again my preference is for them to be a little softer, so I cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil, and bake in the oven for 30- 35 minutes.  Remove from oven, let them cool just a few minutes (the roof of your mouth and tongue will thank me) and enjoy.  

Aren't Bell Peppers Pretty?