Pasta Stuffed Peppers - Whoda Thunk it?
By Wendy
@jerzgirl (9384)
United States
February 11, 2013 3:13pm CST
My daughter works for a fresh produce distributor and will often bring home tomatoes and peppers from work (overages & shortages in lots received). This week she brought home about 15 cups of Tommies Snack Tomatoes and six bell peppers (yellow, orange & red) as well as a huge bag of fresh string beans.
I decided to try to find how I could use the tomatoes since I don't eat them fresh from the vine. I just don't like them. Yet, I love so many things made from them. I found a recipe for roasting these little tomatoes and set out to do just that.
Oh, if only I could market the wonderful smell that filled the house from those tomatoes in the oven!! They turned out beautifully, but the foil that was supposed to help make clean up easier stuck to the pan so I didn't roast another pan full. What I had roasted wasn't quite enough to make a full batch of pasta sauce, either, so I opened a can of ready-made sauce and added it to the roasted tomatoes and then cooked some elbow macaroni. There was so much!!
The next day, I decided to tackle the peppers. I cut off the tops and cleaned out the seeds and ribs and tried to think of how I could use them besides cutting them up and freezing them. I went online to see if anyone had ever stuffed peppers with pasta and found, to my surprise, that quite a few people had done just that! So, I took five of the peppers and prepared them for stuffing. I took the macaroni and added two snack summer sausages diced up and a can of whole kernel corn drained and then stuffed each of the five peppers. I made a blend of ketchup, chili powder and dry mustard and topped each pepper with that plus some grated Cheddar Jack cheese. I followed the baking directions I found online and ended up with five GORGEOUS pasta stuffed peppers!! 
My guy friend at two of them (I was so happy he liked them) and my daughter ate one. I have frozen the remaining two for a future lunch. I also cut up the sixth pepper and froze it to be used in chili later on. And, I froze all the remaining snack tomatoes because they can still be used for cooking when they're frozen.
Have you ever done something with vegetables you received that you had never done before? How did it turn out? Would you do it again?
My guy friend at two of them (I was so happy he liked them) and my daughter ate one. I have frozen the remaining two for a future lunch. I also cut up the sixth pepper and froze it to be used in chili later on. And, I froze all the remaining snack tomatoes because they can still be used for cooking when they're frozen.
Have you ever done something with vegetables you received that you had never done before? How did it turn out? Would you do it again?4 people like this
11 responses
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
11 Feb 13
wow, those sound good to me. I like those kind of foods. Havent made anything like that in along time. I made stuffed cabbage a few weeks back... :)
2 people like this
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
11 Feb 13
I like stuffed cabbage, but it has to be cooked just right. My daughter won't touch it and doesn't like rice, so I pretty much only get it as a frozen entree. The cabbage has to be cooked really well because it can be so rubbery if it's not cooked quite right.
1 person likes this
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
12 Feb 13
Now that would be so yummy.
My step mom used to bake them with rice, ground beef , tomatoes and cheese..
I've followed that way a couple times, but bad thing is one of my girls doesn't like tomatoes (unless its in ketchup or pasta sauce) or bell peppers.
1 person likes this
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
21 Feb 13
Kids really do have ways of pulling the "not fair" card, don't they? 
You could just cut a pepper in half and stuff both halves, give a half to each of them and then they have equal amounts, but the one simply doesn't eat the half pepper. Not so much to waste that way.
You could just cut a pepper in half and stuff both halves, give a half to each of them and then they have equal amounts, but the one simply doesn't eat the half pepper. Not so much to waste that way.@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
12 Feb 13
Well, if you were to make these with pasta sauce, you could make extra pasta for your one daughter and everyone else could have theirs in the peppers. I actually like rice and ground beef better, but I wanted to use the peppers and not lose them. Sometimes you just try something new.
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
12 Feb 13
Knowing my girls, that might cause a fuss because the other one "got more pasta". Even if I point out that she got more pasta because she didn't get a pepper like everyone else, they will argue that"pasta is better
Good idea though. . I'll surely give it a try
Good idea though. . I'll surely give it a try1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (120841)
• United States
12 Feb 13
Her favorite is when she fills it with sliced, small pieces of bacon, and I want to say ricotta or monteray jack cheese along with one other ingredient I think. She loves it though, as does her husband. I don't know why I can't remember which kind of cheese it is.
1 person likes this
@redredrose (1105)
• United States
12 Feb 13
my husband is more the cook in the family than i am so he might have done some of these things before but not me. All of those things you mentioned cooking sound wonderful and next time i have peppers in the house i will try pasta stuffed ones. Never heard of pasta stuffed peppers before. I love green yellow and red peppers but have you ever had an orange bell peppepr. They are so sweet and i wonder what they would be like stuffed with anything since all i ever had was green stuffed peppers.
1 person likes this
@sender621 (14889)
• United States
12 Feb 13
I have heard of many variations of stuffed peppers. Everything from meat sauce to rice has been made into a delicious recipe for stuffing peppers with. I had never hard of stuffing peppers with pasta before though. It sounds like a delicious way to further this recipe. It is something that is very well worth trying out. Many more people will becomes lovers of stuffed peppers this way.
1 person likes this
@blackrusty (3519)
• Mexico
12 Feb 13
thank you for sharing this i have a farmers market 2 days a week on my street and i look at it all and what i would what i can do with them as well i have a new prospective now when i see all them vegies be well be safe
1 person likes this
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
21 Feb 13
Nice. With my daughter working for this produce company, it's almost like having a farmer's market handy. I just wish they'd also carry corn and onions. LOL But, I'm grateful for what she gets. It has made me try to think more on what I can do with the vegetables she brings home.
@GardenGerty (169479)
• United States
12 Feb 13
That does sound good, but my hubby does not eat pasta. We use rice in our stuffed peppers.It is great that you get the extra fresh produce. You did good.
1 person likes this
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
12 Feb 13
I was happy with it and happier that it turned out well. It's great getting veggies when our budget's so tight like it is. Now, if one of us could get a job with a butcher or a dairy, we'd be set!! LOL
I had more pasta than peppers and finished off the pasta today, but there are still two peppers in the freezer.
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
11 Feb 13
My mom used to make stuffed peppers, but I really never liked cooked peppers, now I don't like them anyway old way since I get an unpleasant allergic reaction to them.
hummmm, roasted tomatoes, sounds yummy... I like tomatoes any way you hand them to me, raw, cooked, whatever....
1 person likes this
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
11 Feb 13
My mother would make stuffed peppers, too. In fact, she showed me how to make them on top of the stove before she passed because she wanted some and it was too hot for the oven. I'd never made them that way, so it was good that I learned that before she was gone. My problem was that no one I've ever lived with since my parents has liked stuffed peppers and my daughter doesn't like rice (which is why I used pasta with these).
1 person likes this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
21 Feb 13
Oh those are helpful tips you shared here. I think I will try doing the same for a change. But actually, I love fresh tomatoes and peppers on my green salad. Raw or cooked, it does not really matter to me.
We've been gathering lots of tomatoes from our garden these days so what I did was to juice all the green tomatoes then I add some honey and have them bottled before storing in the refrigerator. They make truly refreshing healthy drink for the whole family. 
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
11 Feb 13
I freeze homemade tomato sauce and it lasts for months. If you have a space in your freezer, that`s about all you need. I place it in those zip lock bags and to the freezer. I fry diced onions, cruched garlic and some bay leaves. Then I add the skinned tomatoes and let them smmer. You can add mushrooms, ground meat ot chicken pieces if you wish.
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
11 Feb 13
That's what I was hoping to do with these, but there weren't enough when I was done, so I just made the sauce right then and used it. I'd have roasted all the tomatoes if the pan had stayed clean with the foil, so instead I froze them. I didn't peel any of them. These were just little ones, like baby plum tomatoes. If you process or blend them, it doesn't really matter that they still have skins.
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
12 Feb 13
When My husband used to be a tow truck driver the company he worked for only towed the big rigs and their trailers. They also cleaned up accidents. He would bring home things in mass quantities all the time. The worst or best if you want was a load of iced tea (national brand ) and juice (same brand). He literally brought me home cases of it. In fact we had three pallets in our front yard. I was loading people trunks with it...lol. I used that stuff in so many ways I never imagined, from mixed drinks and sangria, marinades, sauces, jellies and frozen treats. Let me tell you apple juice is the most versatile juice in the world
. He did als bring home fresh produce occasionally. The best was these huge cabbages he brought back 6 of them. I made casseroles and soup to freeze as well as a ton of salads. Your recipe here though made me think of one I want to try that I saw on Pinterest. It was a bell pepper cut to be filled them filled with steak that you would use for cheese steak, onion, mushrooms and then covered on cheese. A low carb recipe. I plan to try it with some leaner venison ( I have replaced all our Beef with venison it is so much leaner) and a 2% cheese.
. I used that stuff in so many ways I never imagined, from mixed drinks and sangria, marinades, sauces, jellies and frozen treats. Let me tell you apple juice is the most versatile juice in the world. He did als bring home fresh produce occasionally. The best was these huge cabbages he brought back 6 of them. I made casseroles and soup to freeze as well as a ton of salads. Your recipe here though made me think of one I want to try that I saw on Pinterest. It was a bell pepper cut to be filled them filled with steak that you would use for cheese steak, onion, mushrooms and then covered on cheese. A low carb recipe. I plan to try it with some leaner venison ( I have replaced all our Beef with venison it is so much leaner) and a 2% cheese.