Stuffed Bell Peppers and Fruit Pizza

I have recently made friends with one of our commissary's produce grocers, Dave. He gives me some great deals on discounted produce, mostly tomatoes and bell peppers. All of the peppers or tomatoes that get picked over for small bruises or wrinkly skins are left to go bad on the shelves, but I occasionally volunteer to take some of them off of his hands.

Because these veggies are not likely to make much profit anyways, Dave can give me a really good deal on them. And by really good deal, I mean he gives me a bag of 8-9 bell peppers of varied color for 99 cents!!

Then comes the real problem -- What do you do with 8-9 bell peppers that have a VERY short shelf life in your fridge? The answer comes in one delicious recipe: Stuffed Bell Peppers. The version I like best is adapted from the blog Simply Recipes. They were delicious and we ate them all! Then we had Shaun's favorite for dessert: Fruit Pizza. It's been a staple in his family for years, and it will inevitably be one in ours now too!

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STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 large bell peppers
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large vidalia onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup chopped tomatoes (if using canned, drain liquid)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce

1. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil, adding a little salt. Wash peppers and cut off the tops about an inch down from the stem. Remove the seeds and submerge in the boiling water. Allow the peppers to boil for 3-4 minutes or until slightly tender. Then drain and set upright in a glass baking dish to cool.

2. Preheat your oven to 350F. In a large skillet, heat 4 tbsp olive oil before adding the onion. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until tender and translucent. Make sure to stir so they don't burn. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. After taking the skillet off the burner, add the onions and garlic to a large bowl with the beef, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Then roll up your sleeves and mix the ingredients well with your hands.*

3. Divide the remaining tbsp of olive oil and drizzle the insides of the peppers before filling the pepper cups with the meat mixture. Along with 1/4 cup of water, mix the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Spoon evenly atop each pepper. Add 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the baking dish and place in the oven to bake for 40-50 minutes.

*Shaun and I agreed that next time we make these, we might try mixing the ketchup mixture in with the meat mixture to keep the filling more moist. If you'd rather stick with the recipe, we used extra ketchup as a condiment with our meal, and it still tasted delicious!


FRUIT PIZZA
Serves 6-8 (Less if Shaun is around!)

Ingredients:
1 pkg refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 80z pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
Variety of chopped fruits -- you get to choose!

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the cookie dough over the bottom of a jelly roll pan (11"x13"). Be fair warned, it will end up being a really, really, thin layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Set on wire rack to cool for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Using an electric hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice. Beat until smooth and then spread evenly over the cookie crust.

3. Top with your favorite fruits! It's always a good idea (economically and yummibly) to go with fruits in season, but there are no rules. We used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, and banana in the pictures, but we've also been known to add apples, peaches, mango, starfruit, blackberries, mandarin oranges, and pineapple. Bon appetit!!