Late Night Stuffed Bell Pepper

You know the feeling. It's late, say... 8pm. You're thinking, "Oh shit! I forgot to eat dinner! But I'm not starving..." So you eat ice cream or chips or something equally unsatisfying. You go to bed feeling gross.

FEAR NOT!

As I am becoming more and more domesticated, I've realized that situations like this have an easy fix. Here's something I did tonight to avoid going to bed with knots in my stomach.

Warning: I did not measure hardly anything when I made this. So just do your best!

-Recipe-

Serves one person.

Ingredients:

- 1 green bell pepper

- parmesan cheese, shredded

- tomato sauce (I used 7-Herb Tomato Ragú)

- long grain rice (I used 1/4 cup, which is plenty)

- garlic salt

- Italian seasoning

- seasoned bread crumbs

- cayenne pepper (crushed red pepper)

Directions:

- Add twice as much water as you have rice (1/4 cup rice = 1/2 cup water), and boil in a pot. Once boiling, adjust burner to "low" setting and let the rice simmer for about 15 minutes or so.

- While the rice is cooking, preheat your oven to 375ºF.

- Cut the top off of the green bell pepper and remove core (the part with the seeds). Place it on a baking sheet.

- In a small bowl, pour tomato sauce and add an equal amount of parmesan cheese. This will be the bulk of the stuffing (besides the rice). Just guesstimate in regards to the size of the bell pepper. You'll do fine. and if you add too much, you can always adjust this later by adding more rice.

- Sprinkle some bread crumbs, garlic salt, cayenne pepper, and Italian seasoning. I also added some salt and pepper to add some flair. Don't add too much spice or you will overwhelm your mouth. Be especially careful with the garlic salt and cayenne pepper.

- Take about a large spoonful of rice (again, guesstimate in regards to the size of your pepper) and add to the mixture in your bowl.

- Stuff the pepper to your liking. Add more rice if desired, or more sauce/cheese. Whatever you think will make you happy (and help you sleep).

- Throw (not literally) your pepper on your baking sheet into the oven for about 45 minutes. Many recipes online will tell you an hour, but sometimes this can overwhelm the bell pepper and you'll lose that great sweet-peppery taste!

- And the best part is, you'll have rice to spare to eat while you wait. And if you have excess stuffing, add it to your bowl of rice and wait out that special treat in the oven.

If you need any help with stuffing suggestions, contact me!

I apologize for not adding a photo! I ate the pepper too hastily! If I make it again, I'll repost.

This post is dedicated to:

1) Cait Greene. May your stomach stop grumbling.

2) Michelle Lanier. Even though you didn't want a stuffed pepper, I hope you feel better! Good thing I put more water in the Brita pitcher!