Stuffed Bell Peppers

I love hamburgers as much as the next girl (and you will probably see them on here sooner or later, especially with the summer coming on full force) but I also have been trying to incorporate more veggies into my meals and be healthier because it is so easy to just have a bowl of pasta or a piece of chicken every night without any sides when I get home late and am always in a rush. Not to mention fresh produce is often pretty expensive.. But I'm trying, especially for the summer when the vegetables look so good and fresh and I can't resist buying some. 

Enter the stuffed pepper. Basically hamburger in a big, bright pepper instead of a bun. My grandma showed me how to make these once and it's really so simple and yet so different. My mom also makes them sometimes so it almost feels like some kind of family recipe, even though the grandma who makes them is my dads mother.. I think she is the one who taught my mom them too though. 

Anywayss. I decided to try it, for the reasons I already mentioned: the peppers looked to good in the store, burgers sounded so yummy and summery, and to make veggies a main part of the meal. I also though this would be a good way to get the boyfriend to eat some vegetables because he loves hamburgers but is not so keen on vegetables usually. 

I got four peppers and the larger package of ground beef, I think it was about 2 pounds. I figured I could just turn the leftover into a regular burger if there was leftovers which is exactly what happened. I personally like red and orange peppers the best, but got a green one too just because they looked so nice all together. All you do is slice off the top of the pepper and take out the seeds and stuff the meat inside. The meat is mixed with an egg, a little bit of breadcrumbs (both of which make it stick together and add flavor), crushed garlic along with some garlic powder, salt, pepper, and any other random seasonings, I think I used a few sprinkles of italian seasoning. Mix it all up real good but not too much and pack it into the peppers. Squeeze in as much as possible because it sort of settles in as it cooks and the juices come out. I put it in a pan with some aluminum foil on top so the tops wouldn't burn and then took the foil off at the end so they could get browned. They take a while to cook because of the amount of meat and how much its packed in there. Just keep checking until it is cooked in the middle. Serve with the little tops perched on top like hats.