Slow Cooker Beef, Barley & Veggie Stuffed Peppers
June 6th, 2008
This is my second attempt at stuffed peppers in my crock pot — the first time turned out tasty, but I got the quantities all wrong. This time the quantities are correct and they’re still tasty! My mother-in-law and GG thought it was one of my better meals (and they are fans of my cooking in general); I enjoyed it and would make it again but it’s a little on the bland side.
I used a braising greens mix from my farm share to bump up the vegetable content of the meat mixture. They were a lot more subtle than I expected, especially since they were very aromatic (sharp, mustard-like) when I was chopping them. You could substitute any other green leafy vegetable, such as fresh spinach. Mushrooms would work well, too.
I also used unseasoned, boxed (Pomi brand) chopped tomatoes and some vegetable broth as the sauce and seasoned it with a bit of garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper; a jarred marinara would likely work just as well.
You end up with a complete one-pot meal: protein, veggies, and starch in a colorful, edible container.
Slow Cooker Beef, Barley & Veggie Stuffed Peppers
1/2 c. pearled barley
1½ c. water
26 oz. chopped tomatoes in their liquid
1 c. vegetable broth
garlic powder, oregano to taste
6 medium bell peppers, any color
1 lb. lean ground beef
3 oz. tomato paste
1½ c. braising greens, finely chopped
1 small onion, minced (about 1 c.)
ground pepper
Bring barley and water to a boil in a covered pot, then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain any excess water and set aside, uncovered, to cool.
Combine chopped tomatoes, broth, and spices in the bottom of your crock pot.
Wash and cut the tops off of your peppers, reserving the tops. Remove seeds and pith, and set peppers aside.
Remove the stems from the pepper tops and chop the remaining pepper pieces. In a large bowl, combine pepper pieces, beef, tomato paste, greens, onion, and ground pepper. Mix well with clean hands.
Stuff peppers with the meat mixture, and stand them upright in your crock pot. Spoon some of the sauce mixture on top of the peppers. Cover, and cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
Remove peppers and serve remaining sauce on the side.
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I'm Dara, the chick in the kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 3 and 5, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Reach me at .
4 Comments
1. Grammy | June 6th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Looks great. I like crock pot meals.
2. merrie | June 7th, 2008 at 6:25 am
The look yummy.
3. Menu Plan Monday, 6/9 - 6&hellip | June 8th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
[...] week I nailed down the proportions on the Slow Cooker Beef, Barley & Veggie Stuffed Peppers, which is a nice dish for the summer since it won’t heat up the kitchen. You could increase [...]
4. Jodi | June 10th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
That sort of looks like a cabbage roll…but in a pepper:O)