Stuffed Pepper Casserole

We have enjoyed an abundance of fresh peppers and tomatoes this fall.  We actually still have a huge pan of green tomatoes gradually ripening on the counter.  It's fun to see them starting to turn orange then red among the bright green sea of tomatoes.  

We love stuffed peppers, although the kids find them a bit challenging to eat.  Plus the work of stuffing the peppers (while not difficult) is a step I would rather skip so I make this kid-friendly casserole instead.  I love making one pan meals like this stuffed pepper casserole.  If you are a regular here, you are used to seeing my favorite pan in the world...my iron skillet.  This baby can cook just about anything anywhere.  It makes preparing this casserole a breeze transitioning from stove top to oven with ease.  If you don't have one, no problem. Just use a skillet when cooking on the stove, then transfer to an ovenproof casserole dish.  

I actually came up with this dish last summer when we had an abundance of pepper from the garden so we have enjoyed it a lot over the last year.  It's one of our favorites and I hope you will enjoy it too.

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Ingredients:
4 medium bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 sweet onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 lb. lean ground beef
4 tomatoes, diced
1 heaping cup cooked rice
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dried thyme 
1 tsp. salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese plus a little extra to sprinkle on top

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
​2.  Brown beef with pepper, onion, and garlic in skillet at medium-medium/high heat.
3.  Then remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients.  
4.  Sprinkle top with extra cheese then bake about 25 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.  

Yum