Farm to Table Kitchen: Savory Stuffed Peppers

If you live in Lancaster, you’ve probably heard all about the benefits of eating seasonally. Seasonal eating means increased nutrient intake, support for your local economy, reduced food waste – the list goes on and on. With Lancaster’s abundance of farmstands and markets, it’s absolutely doable. However, if you’re as challenged in the kitchen as I am, finding recipes that are good and conducive to seasonal eating can be difficult. So, with the help of LFT staff, we’ve decided to do the heavy lifting for the good of our fellow Lancastrians – who are hesitant in the kitchen. This week, we’re documenting our experience with a beginner-friendly seasonal recipe, complete with local market options and recipe ratings. Let the cooking begin!


The Ingredients
As of writing this blog, it’s late August in Lancaster County. Luckily for us, food options abound amid Lancaster’s summer harvest. For this dish, we’re going to try out a classic stuffed bell pepper recipe, courtesy of Once Upon a Chef. Here are the ingredients to shop for:

  • 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
  • 1¼ teaspoons salt, divided
  • Heaping ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 large red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cut in half from the stem to the bottom and cored
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1½ teaspoons chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup cooked rice, quinoa, or any grain
  • 1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar Jack cheese

The Groceries
One of the most challenging parts of seasonal eating is finding markets that sell all the necessary ingredients for an entire recipe. We’ve promised to do the heavy lifting, so here are the markets we visited, plus prices for your shopping convenience:

  1. Lapp’s Farm Market

Address: 1406 Lampeter Rd, Lancaster, PA 17602
Lapp’s always has great produce, so we stopped here for our bell peppers, garlic cloves, and onion. Bell peppers were 75 cents apiece, garlic cloves were $1 apiece, and onions were 75 cents apiece.

  1. Dutch Meadows LLC

Address: 694 Country Ln, Paradise, PA 17562
While Dutch Meadows LLC has an on-site farm store you can browse, you can also sign up for home delivery! Specializing in meats and cheeses, this was the perfect farm to grab the ground beef. Prices vary, but typically a pound of ground beef at Dutch Meadows costs about $10. Click here to check out their website and sign up for delivery!

  1. Lancaster Central Market

Address: 23 N Market St, Lancaster, PA 17603
Located in the center of town, Lancaster Central Market is perfect for picking up those last odds and ends for a recipe, so we stopped in for local cheese and homemade sauce. We decided to swap out the recipe’s tomato sauce with artisanal pasta sauce from Amish Family Recipes, which costs $6.95 per jar. We also grabbed a delicious block of cheese from S. Clyde Weaver, starting at about $9 per block.


The Recipe
It’s time to get cooking. Here are the instructions we used for our stuffed bell peppers:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
  2. Tenderize the beef: In a medium bowl, using your hands, mash the beef with 1 teaspoon of salt and the baking soda. Let sit for 20 minutes while you continue with the recipe.
  3. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil for easy clean-up, if you like. Place the peppers, cut side up, in the baking dish; drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt.
  4. Roast the peppers for about 20 minutes, until slightly browned and tender-crisp. A bit of liquid will accumulate in the bottom of the peppers; that’s okay.
  5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more; do not brown. Add the ground beef mixture, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and increase the heat to medium high. Cook, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon, until the meat is browned and almost cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium low and cook, uncovered, until the meat is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cooked rice and ¾ cup of the cheese and stir until melted. Remove the skillet from the heat.
  6. Remove the peppers from the oven and spoon the meat filling evenly into the peppers. Sprinkle with the remaining ¾ cup cheese and place back in the oven. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until the filling is hot, and the cheese is melted and bubbling, and serve.
  7. Make-Ahead Instructions: The peppers can be partially cooked and filled with the beef mixture up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerated, or frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, defrost overnight in the refrigerator if frozen, cover the dish with foil, and bake in a 425°F-oven for about 15 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and remove and discard the foil. Top the peppers with the cheese and place back in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted.

Our Ratings
Overall, this was a great dish! To make it a bit more filling, I added rice to the stuffing. I also added chicken brother and extra cumin while cooking the meat to add flavor and spice. All in all, it was easy to find all of the ingredients locally and fairly easy for beginners to make. We’ve decided to rate this a 4 out of 5 stars!


Conclusions
Seasonal eating benefits you, your community, and our hard-working local farmers. It’s a great way to get the most out of your meals and connect with our agricultural landscape. So, grab your friends, visit your local farm markets, and support Lancaster’s farmland! For more recipes and seasonal eating information, be sure to connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
Happy cooking, everyone!