Stuffed Bell Peppers - Video Recipe

My colorful and easy-to-make recipe uses Bell Peppers stuffed with a couple sauteed veggies, some uncooked rice, and ground meat.

I guess you can call this a Meatloaf wrapped in Bell Pepper. Roasted, Bell Peppers are tender, tasty, and almost sweet. This is a light meal if you use ground turkey or chicken.

When you bake the covered Stuffed Bell Peppers for an hour and a half, they steam uncooked rice until tender. The rice plumps up and absorbs surrounding flavors for a delicious entree.

I like to bake a few at a time to freeze for later. Serve one of them with a favorite side and you have a satisfying meal. Or just eat one on its own as there is plenty of protein, veggies, and carbs, all in one bite!

I often find Bell Peppers on sale at regular grocery stores, and especially at my local Latin market.

Red, yellow and orange Bell Peppers usually cost more for some reason. I usually make this recipe with cheaper green bell peppers, but this time I went for it to introduce color into my video recipe.

Raphs Grocery Store

Superior Grocers

To stuff a Bell Pepper I slice around the stem and pull off the top. Most of the seeds will come out. If needed slice out any that hold on to the interior. I also cut away the white part of the inside "ribs." It doesn't have to be perfect, just remove most of the seeds and top stem.

You can use any color on sale. Red, orange or yellow Bell Peppers are a little sweeter than green ones. But anytime you roast or saute a bell pepper it will sweeten up, even green ones.

The most expensive items are mushrooms and ground meat. But even these come on sale from time to time. Ground meat, I can freeze and defrost when mushroom shows up at my local 99c only Stores.

I even find small amounts of ground meat (let's say for one or two Stuffed Bell Peppers) at my local Dollar Tree. You can use low-fat ground turkey or chicken.

Click on any photo to see larger. 

Mushroom are almost always at my local 99c only Stores. They come in 4 or 5-ounce packages. You could just pick out a couple of whole mushrooms from your fave grocery store. Add more or less or just leave them out. The sauteed onion and garlic with rice are enough stuffing.

Rice is cheap at any store, you can use white, brown or any type you can find on sale. If you have leftover cooked rice then use that.

I add an egg or two and a little milk to dampen the stuffing, so the raw rice will steam tender. The main thing when baking Stuffed Bell Peppers are to cover them well, so the rice will cook through without drying out.

You will have a few crunchy rice kernels on top of Stuffed Bell Peppers, but that's okay, it's just a little extra texture. But you can be sure the interior will have cooked and flavorful rice. If you have leftover cooked rice it's okay to use it, too.

My latest video recipe is a favorite of mine and I make it when bell peppers and ground meat comes on sale. It's an easy and cheap way to extend more and more expensive ground protein. So make a batch of my Stuffed Bell Peppers, and go ahead a freeze them for later, too.

Stuffed Bell Peppers - Video

Play it here, video runs 3 minutes, 17 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (1 or 2 per serving)

• 1 pound ground beef, pork, turkey or chicken.
• 4 to 5 bell peppers - medium to large any color. Green Bell Peppers are cheapest.
• Mushrooms sliced - a small package of about 5 ounces. Okay to use any type mushrooms you like. 
• 1/2 cup rice - okay to use 1 cup cooked rice.
• 1/2 onion - chopped
• 1 large egg - or 2 small eggs.
• Worcestershire Sauce 1 teaspoon - optional. Okay to use Soy Sauce. 
•  Garlic 1 teaspoon - chopped, from the jar, fresh or even dried.
• 1/4 cup milk - cream or favorite broth.
•  Black Pepper to taste - Worcestershire and Soy Sauce have enough salt for me.

Directions
Slice onion and mushrooms. I use garlic from a jar, so it's ready to cook, okay to use fresh garlic.

Add a little oil to a frying pan and saute chopped onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Next, add the sliced mushrooms and saute another 5 minutes, stirring. Finally, add garlic and saute for just a minute.

In a large bowl add the raw ground meat. Add sauteed veggies, uncooked rice, one or two eggs, and milk or broth.

Season with black pepper, I find Worcestershire Sauce and Soy Sauce are salty enough. Mix all the ingredients together. This is the stuffing for Bell Peppers.

 I used four to five large Bell Peppers. Depending on the size, I find that is enough with one pound of ground meat. Mainly you want to make sure all the Bell Peppers will fit in a covered baking dish. You can use a pan, just make sure to wrap or cover the peppers with foil.

 While you are sauteing veggies you can prepare the Bell Peppers.

To stuff a Bell Pepper, I slice around the stem and pull off the top. Most of the seeds will come out. If needed slice out any that hold on to the interior. I also cut away the white part of the inside "ribs." It doesn't have to be perfect, just remove most of the seeds and top stem.

Fill up Bell Peppers with the sauteed veggies and ground meat. If you have any leftover stuffing you can wrap it in foil and freeze for later, or just wrap it in foil and bake it with Bell Peppers, kinda like a Meatloaf.

Cover the Stuffed Bell Peppers and bake for 1 1/2 hours (90 minutes) at 350 degrees.

That's it, just remove from oven when done. I let them sit covered for 5 minutes or so to cool down a little.

Christmas Cheap$kate Recipe Roundup!

It's the most busy and overwhelming cooking day of the year -- well don't fret, The 99 Cent Chef wants to take the stress out and make it a bit easier for you. I got it all here: my holiday recipes, along with a cupboard full of money-saving tips for you during this Christmas season. So read on and take a few tips from the grinchiest tightwad around.

Below is everything you need to serve a sumptuous and cost-saving dinner table feast. And make sure you bookmark this page because Christmas is right around the corner -- yikes!

First up, if you live in Los Angeles, the Cheap$kate Chef would recommend getting fruits and veggies at any Superior Grocers -- just click here to see the great deals to be had, it's incredible. They cater to Latin clientele, but everyone is welcome.

In the recent past Superior Grocers have sold yams at 5 pounds for 69 cents, russet potatoes 8 pounds for 99 cents, tomatoes 4 pounds for 99 cents, yellow onions 7 pounds for 99 cents, green bell peppers 5 for a dollar, and collard greens for 69 cents per pound - oh boy!

I'm sure there are turkey deals to be had wherever you are during the holiday, so this week check out those grocery flyers in the mail before you give them the heave-ho.

The main event is the centerpiece, a fat turkey overloaded with stuffing. Now, wouldn't it be great if you could get away with just setting out a stack of heated Banquet Turkey Dinners? That really is the cheapest way to go.

Well I know that won't fly, but one year in my bachelor days I had one. My wacky review of this frozen fiasco poultry dinner is a click away here.

But seriously, I posted my version of a Turkey with Stuffing recipe, and click here to read all about it. My blog post also features my Mother-in-law's decedent Sausage Stuffing. I shot a video below for you, and it's done in my movie technique of stop-motion animation to boot.



You may find a whole turkey too much to handle, or your guest list is just yourself and maybe one or two other guests. In that case, it is easy and often cheaper to bake a whole Turkey Breast.

Last time I cooked a Turkey Breast it took about 2 hours at 350 degrees to roast. I simply seasoned it with salt and pepper, leaving it uncovered. You can also add some herbs, or do it your own family recipe way.

Check with a thermometer for a reading of 165 degrees. I usually just slice into a thick part of the Turkey Breast and make sure there are no pink juices. And when done, remove from oven and let stand for about 5 minutes so juices settle back in the meat.

Same goes for Turkey Legs. They may cook a little quicker though, so start check for doneness after an hour and a half. For a change of pace, I made a tasty recipe called Turkey Carnitas. I just cover and braise a couple of Turkey Legs for about 2 to 3 hours in water with herbs. You can see how I do it in the video below.



To add some South of the Border Christmas tradition serve a steaming bowl of pork, chile and hominy stew called Pozole. Along with tamales, Pozole is a Mexican culinary holiday tradition.



Setting out a platter of plump Tamales are edible holiday packages of deliciousness. And while I don't have a cheap$kate recipe yet, I can point you to a local L.A. fave purveyor called Tamales Alberto. If you are in the 'hood do get a dozen.

My recipes are stuffed with cooking tips and cheap shopping sources like my local 99c only Store that carries boxes of stuffing and Hormel Bacon & Pork Sausage Links for, you guessed it, 99.99 cents. Right now they are selling everything but the bird!

And my local Dollar Tree has stepped up their holiday food deals as well.

Click on any photo to see larger

Come take a walk on the wild sides with The 99 Cent Rebel With a Cause Chef. And you can be sure the following links will go over big with your hungry family and visiting neighbors. You've never seen stuffing made like this: Stuffing Cupcakes with Cranberry Topping & Gravy.

To get the step-by-step directions for this most deliciously unique savory and sweet stuffing recipe click here. It's easy and quick to make, all you need (to borrow) is a cupcake pan. Stuffing Cupcakes are portable for an office party or a potluck dinner. If you are like me, stuffing, next to roasted turkey, is the main event for my ravenous taste buds.

Stuffing Cupcakes

Make your own Homemade Cranberry Sauce by simmering two cups of fresh cranberries in a simple sweet syrup. My original recipe uses fresh strawberries but can use almost any fresh fruit, including cranberries.

Everyone knows how to make Mashed Potatoes, right? Well if you are a newbie to pulverizing tubers, I got your back! And you gotta have gravy to go with Mashed Potatoes. My Turkey with Dressing link has a Homemade Gravy recipe, too.

Mashed Potatoes

Boring Creamed Spinach is a typical Thanksgiving side, but I have a Hindi twist. One of my favorite India restaurant side dishes is Saag Paneer, which is just like creamed spinach, but with cheese and the added spice punch of ground cumin. My version is made with easy-to-get (and lower fat) cottage cheese instead of Indian Paneer (cheese) and Ghee (butter). Once you and your family try my cheesy and creamy Saag Paneer, you won't go back to Creamed Spinach. And the recipe is a click away, here.

If you are looking for traditional sides I have the old school French Fried Onions and Green Bean Casserole, that is right out of the 1960's themed Mad Men TV series. Yeah, all you need is a can opener for the green beans and Campbell's Mushroom Soup. This is a classic recipe were Betty Crocker has it right -- creamy, crunchy and so satisfying. Click here to see the Cheap$kate Chef's version.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts are edible Christmas ornaments that you can add to the oven during the last 30 minutes of your roasting turkey. Just drizzle them with oil and dust with salt and pepper. It couldn't be simpler to do and here is my stop motion animated video to prove it.



Of course, I have some more sides for you, just click on any of the following names: Green Beans with Almonds,  Whiskey Yams with Brown Sugar Pumpkin Seeds, Squash, Tomatoes and Onions, Brussels Sprouts in Sour Cream, Roasted Potatoes with Carrots, Honey Orange Glazed Carrots, Collard Greens with Molasses, Asparagus and Red Potato Salad,  Pear and Spinach Salad with Creamy Dressing, Fresh Fruit Salad.

Green Beans & Almonds

And don't forget the appetizers like: Warm Artichoke Dip, Black Olive Tapenade with Crostinis,  Bacon Wrapped Dates with Cream Cheese, and Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Salami.

Warm Artichoke Dip

And if that isn't enough -- it's dessert time! After you push yourself away from the table and waddle to the couch to catch a holiday game on the TV, be sure to grab a handful of  my wife's Cranberry Orange and Coconut Cookies (click on the name for the recipe.)

But you can't do better than desserts made by Mom. They know what makes a family happy and mine has been generous enough to show me how she does it. Here are a couple of videos I made of her homemade Pumpkin and Mini Pecan Pies.

Now is the time to hit up your local grocery for cans of pumpkin or, if you are cheap like me, less expensive cans of sweet potato. You can use either, as the taste is identically delicious (that is, when canned yams are in a sweet syrup.)

Read the recipe details of my Mom's luscious Pumpkin Pie by clicking here. And watch the video below to see how she does it.



Every Thanksgiving holiday I eagerly await a package from Mom of her famous Mini Pecan Pies. A dozen of them travel well inside a shoebox from Louisiana to Los Angeles. These small pies are the tastiest present one can receive, and I got her recipe for you -- all you have to do is click here.

This is a great Thanksgiving party dessert, but make sure to give your host a few, as they will disappear way too fast. If you don't believe me, just check out the video I made of Mom setting out a plateful -- and watch my relatives devour them in no time flat! (By the way, I think you will be impressed with how the Chintzy Chef gets around paying normally exorbitant pecan prices.)



I hope you all have a great holiday. Keep checking back here for more budget recipes and loads of new food videos. And I'll leave you with my Homemade Egg Nog recipe and wacky tree trimming video.

Mango Pancakes - Video Recipe

Add some tropical flavor to your breakfast pancakes with my Mango Pancakes Recipe.

A ripe Mango is super sweet fully ripe. They are quite easy to peel, then just slice off the soft flesh into bite-sizes to add to your fave pancake mix. When they make contact with a hot grill they sweetly caramelize like grilled pineapple (ha, another future pancake recipe!)

Mangos are ripe when soft to the touch, kinda like an avocado. I have gotten Mango that goes from green to bad on occasion, sometimes they will not ripen right...oh well. But when they do they have the best flavor.

I peel a Mango by just slicing into the skin, top to bottom about 4 slices per Mango. That is usually enough to then peel each segment of skin to reveal the orange flesh underneath. Then you just slice off the flesh until you hit the large flat/oval seed.

Living in L.A. Mango are easy to get and cheap, too. I get mine at my local Latin grocery store, Superior Grocers.

For the pancake batter, I use a commercial brand. If you have a homemade recipe then use it. I can get a large box of dry pancake batter at my local 99c only Store or Dollar Tree. Regular grocery stores sell it cheap enough, too.

Start your day right, with my tropical cheap$kate breakfast of Mango Pancakes.

Mango Pancakes - Video

Play it here, video runs 1 minute, 34 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (2 servings, using a pancake mix)

• 1 cup pancake mix - any favorite
• 3/4 cup water - okay to use milk for a richer pancake batter.
• 1 mango - roughly sliced or chopped. Depending on the size, one larger size is plenty. Okay to substitute with any fresh seasonal fruit like: blueberry, peach, apricot, strawberry, and even sliced banana or canned fruit like pineapple.
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil - to grease skillet. Add more when needed, depending on how many pancakes you make.
• Butter and favorite pancake syrup - add as much as you like.

Directions
Prepare pancake batter according to package directions. My pancake mix calls for 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water.

Mix pancake ingredients in a bowl. When mixed it will be like thick country gravy.

Start to heat the pan over a medium/low heat.

Peel Mango and slice off flesh from the seed. I slice into skin top to bottom, 4 slices total. Then loosen the top of a slice and peel off the skin. Sometimes it breaks and sometimes it peels all the way off. I do one half at a time so it's less messy to separate the flesh.

I then slice off the flesh of one side. Then I turn over Mango and slice into skin and remove it. Finally slicing off the rest of the flesh.

Mix sliced Mango into pancake batter. Sometimes I will lay out the mango slices directly on the hot pan and pour pancake batter over the slices. It's okay to just mix in the Mango into the pancake batter.

Add oil to pancake pan and pour on the pancake batter with Mango pieces. Brown each side of the pancake. Mine took about 3 minutes for each side. It really depends how hot your pan gets.

The box directions above mentions cooking time to brown each side as 1.5 minutes each....hmmmm, they must be using a super hot pan!

If you want a dark brown pancake presentation, then just cook one side to get the right amount of brown, then cook the other side for a minute, to finish. Serve browned side up, on the plate.

I serve hot with melted butter and favorite pancake syrup.