Venison Stuffed Peppers
During our most successful year of gardening, I found myself with so many peppers. I was bringing them in a sink full at a time! As my garden has just been planted this year, I’m salivating at the thought of delicious venison stuffed peppers in our very near future. This recipe is even more rewarding to prepare when I can combine my fresh tomatoes or home-canned tomatoes and venison we harvested from the homestead. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing a meal is prepared from ingredients that you have harvested yourself.
Preparing the Peppers
One of the key steps in this recipe is to properly prepare the peppers. Put a large pot of water to boil while you prepare the peppers. I cut the tops off just enough to be able to stuff easily, removing seeds and excess flesh inside the peppers. You could also cut in half if you prefer a more simple method, however, only large peppers will work when cutting peppers in half. Set any of the trimmed pieces aside. These are great for adding to salads or freezing for another use. Next, carefully place the prepared peppers into the boiling water. Cook peppers for 5 to 8 minutes. This step is extremely important. It makes for a shorter cook time but also more tender peppers. I prefer the lesser time for a slightly crisp pepper.
Preparing the Venison Stuffing Mix
In a cast-iron skillet, cook the onion until partially cooked. Add the ground venison and salt. While we always have venison in abundance, ground beef or ground turkey could be substituted. Cook the meat throughly, drain and cool slightly.
Stir in the cheese, tomatoes and cooked rice. If using home canned tomatoes, a quart is the perfect amount for this recipe, but be sure to drain the excess liquid.
Stuff the Venison Stuffed Peppers and Bake
Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, stuff the peppers. A large cookie scoop works great for this. Bake the peppers uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until heated through.
Freeze for A Quick Meal
We love to prepare these when the pepper harvest is abundant and freeze them. Complete all steps up until the baking step. Freeze the peppers individually so you can pull out individual peppers. Defrost the peppers and bake. Cook time may be slightly longer since the filling is not already hot.
Venison Stuffed Peppers
This quick meal is a great way to utilize an abundant harvest of peppers. These freeze beautifully!
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 medium peppers
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground venison
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups petite diced tomatoes
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 1/4 cup cooked rice, we prefer Basmati Rice
Instructions
- Cut off the tops of peppers and remove seeds.
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook peppers 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from water, drain and let cool slightly.
- In a cast-iron skillet cook onion until translucent. Add ground venison and salt. Cook thoroughly and drain if needed.
- Stir in tomatoes, cooked rice, and shredded cheese.
- Once peppers are cool enough to handle, stuff with meat filling. Sprinkle tops with extra cheese, if desired.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes until heated through.
Notes
- These peppers freeze beautifully. After stuffing peppers, freeze peppers prior to baking. After defrosting, bake according to the directions above.
- I put any extra filling in the pan with stuffed peppers and bake them in small servings. The extra filling is great for any family member who doesn’t care for peppers, or for those who want a little extra.
Here’s a look back at our summer garden bounty of 2019 https://kowalskimountain.com/summers-garden-bounty/
About the Author: Barbra-Sue Kowalski grew up on a small hobby farm. She was always drawn to farm life, however, she was stuck in an urban life far from her roots. Barbra-Sue was a single mom for 13 years, raising her 3 children on her own. She met Philip in 2018 and they married in 2021. Between the two of them, they have 5 grown children and 4 grandchildren. These empty nesters are following their dreams! As they both turn 50, they are building their off-grid homestead to live the life that they dream about. Learn more about Philip and Barbra-Sue here. Contact them here. To leave a comment on this post, please scroll down.
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This recipe is adapted from a recipe on Taste of Home.
Yummy! I’m sure anyone that wanted to sub out the venison for ground beef could, but I hope to find some venison soon!
Oh easily!