MTAL #3

The third in my series.

Spanish- Style Stuffed Peppers
from Rachael Ray

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
4 large red bell peppers
1 1/3 lb ground chicken
salt and black pepper
1 Tbsp sweet paprika
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
2 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a saucepot with a lid over medium heat. Add the rice, stir to coat with the oil andd toast for 2 minutes. Add the stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook the rice for 16 minutes. The rice will be a bit tough at the center but it will continue to cook when it's baked in the pepper.
3. Cut the top off each bell pepper and reserve as a lid. Trim the bottoms of the peppers so they stand upright, taking care no to make holes in the bottoms of the peppers to prevent leaks. Seed the peppers and set aside.
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add the meat and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, breaking it up into small bits with a back of a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the onions, garlic, and roasted peppers. Continue to cook until the onions start to get tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the sherry and deglaze the pan, stirring to get any brown bits off the bottom of the skillet. Add 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, about 3/4 of the can, and reduce the heat to low. Stir until heated through, then add the cooked rice to the skillet. Discard the bay leaf. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.
5. Thin the remaining tomato sauce with 1/2 cup water and pour it into an 8-inch square baking dish. Set the peppers upright in the baking dish. Fill each pepper set the caps in place. Bake the peppers, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve 1 pepper per person.

This was my first time roasting rice. I didn't have long-grained rice around so I just used the minute rice I had and adjusted the cook time. It seemed to work about as well.

The meat and vegetable mixture. The roasted bell peppers could easily be made at home but I went ahead and bought a jar. They are dreamy. Seriously, slap one of those on a sandwich and stick in the oven and you have my happy place.
The meat mixture with sauce. Yummy smelling sauce. At this point, I set aside some meat for Asher because I don't think he would appreciate the pepper.
Peppers fresh out of the oven. Aren't they pretty? This is the first time I've seen the top used and it's so pretty that I'll do it again. (And besides being pretty, the tops are great for dipping in the sauce and eating with your hands.
The final product: moan-worthy. Seriously, this is the first meal in a long time that I couldn't help making all sorts of yummy noises through. I absolutely loved it. Asher liked it too. It would be great with some melted cheese throughout (monterrey jack or the like) but not as Asher-friendly. Please try these...please. You won't regret it.