Stuffed bell peppers

When was the last time you took a moment and looked around yourself, but really looked, with appreciation towards your surrounding, taking in all of the beauty that’s right in front of you? Did you ever feel like walking down the same street which you’ve been walking down for years, maybe ten years or more, and just then you realized that your neighbor has the most beautiful balcony in the street, decorated with all sorts of flowers and plants and herbs? Seems like many of us don’t even see what’s staring us in the face, like it takes a car crash to get our attention, deeply lost in our routines.

I’ve realized living like that, losing yourself by constantly trying to get in a routine.. and we as people try to do so, we love routines – they’re carefree, you don’t have to worry about any unforseen situations.. isn’t something that I want to live by. Daily I try to take in everything that’s around me. I usually use public transportation to get around the city, to go to work or classes, here in Zagreb it’s regulated really well so many people use public transport, but what I do is, every time I go somewhere I pick another way to get there and by doing so I get to see different parts of the city.. sometimes I admire the traditional architecture in the old part of the city, sometimes I get to see new parts of the city.

Since I got my new photo, it’s been easier to focus and look for new details around me, especially when travelling and that’s probably the most usual time when people take in what’s around them just because they’re somewhere new and they try to relate to their surroundings. The details are what make the photos unique so we like to find new details that will make our photo new and interesting. So now I use my photo to capture all of the moments and places I’ve been to, and I’m generally happier living like that and doing so.

My recipe that I’m sharing with you today is a traditional one. Bell peppers are a vegetable I love to use in my kitchen, love them grilled, love using ground pepper when seasoning meat as you’ve probably realized and also fresh in any kind of spring or summer salads. Here you have stuffed bell peppers with delicious minced meat – rice mixture topped with tasty tomato sauce and what’s the best ingredient with tomatoes? – Mozzarella cheese!

Enjoy and follow me on Facebook – Recipes by chefkreso

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Preparation: 25 min

Cook time: 1 h

Servings: 8

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Ingredients

• 8 bell peppers, medium
• 6oo g beef mince
• 100 g rice
• 1 egg
• 2 cans chopped tomato
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp red paprika
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 200 g Mozzarella cheese, grated
• Salt & pepper to taste

How to

1. Wash the bell peppers, cut off their caps and clean the inside.
2. Preheat the oven to 180° C.
3. In a large mixing bowl mix together beef mince, onion and garlic, parsley, red paprika, salt, pepper, 1 egg and rice. Stuff each bell pepper with the mixture. Place the stuffed bell peppers in an oiled up glass ovenproof dish and bake them for 15-20 min in a preheated oven.
4. In a medium bowl stir in the tomato sauce with chopped tomatoes, pinch of sugar, oregano, salt and a tablespoon of olive oil. After 15-20 min of baking, take bell peppers out of the oven and pour the tomato mixture over them. Bake the stuffed bell peppers for another 40 to 45 min in an oven. Take them out one more time 15 min before they’re done and sprinkle Mozzarella cheese over them. Finish baking when the tomato sauce is thick and cheese melted.