Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes
4 green peppers
4-5 large tomatoes
2 pounds lean ground beef
1½ cups instant rice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, chopped
⅔ cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 cans (28 ounces each) tomato sauce
1½ cups water
¼ cup olive oil
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the tops off the green peppers and tomatoes. Remove cores and seeds and place hollowed out vegetables in large baking pan (foil pan with tall sides work well). Chop the green pepper tops (discard stem) and reserve for sauce.
In a large bowl, mix ground beef and rice and onion; season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Add wine, ½ tablespoon each oregano and parsley and mix. Add 2 cups tomato sauce and give a final mix. Divide the mixture evenly among the hollowed vegetables.
In a sauce pot, add the remaining tomato sauce, water, oregano and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste and give a good stir.
Add half of the sauce to the pan, pouring gently over the tomatoes and peppers. Drizzle half the olive oil directly over the peppers and tomatoes. Add the remaining oil to the sauce along with chopped green pepper. Simmer sauce, covered, while peppers/tomatoes cook.
Cover pan with foil and bake 1½ hours or until peppers are tender. Uncover and cook for another 20 minutes. At this time you can pour balance of sauce over peppers and tomatoes if planning on serving immediately or keep the two separate for serving later. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread.
Serves eight to nine.