This is a diabetic friendly version of stuffed peppers I used to make years ago using a slow cooker. There is still quite a bit of prep work so allow yourself more than an hour to get this dish on the table. The end result is absolutely worth the effort!
The main change is the swap to barley instead of rice. I use venison in my stuffed peppers but you can absolutely use lean beef as well. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 12 oz lean ground venison or beef
- 1 cup pearl barley - long cook
- 2.5 cups beef stock
- 1 cup yellow onion - chopped
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 3 oz baby portobello caps - chopped
- 1 scallion - cut to 1/4" pieces
- 1 tbsp The Good Stuff - Click here for recipe
- 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 bell peppers - your choice of color - choose flat bottoms
- shredded mozzarella - as needed
- 3 medium tomatoes - cut up
- salt & pepper - to taste
Preparation:
Bring the beef stock to a boil. Thoroughly rinse the pearl barley, add to boiling stock and simmer for ~40 minutes, covered, until almost all liquid is gone. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet and fry the meat in a bit of olive oil until cooked through. Add The Good Stuff and blend well. Remove meat from pan and set aside... keep warm.
Add more oil to the pan and saute the garlic, onion, scallion & mushrooms, adding ginger, parmesan and salt & pepper to taste. Cook until onions are just translucent.
Add the meat back, blend well and adjust seasoning to your liking.
Cut the tops from the peppers and remove insides as best you can.
At this time add the barley to the pan with the meat mix. You will not need all of the barley. The quantity made allows you to gauge how much to add to the pan so you'll have enough to comfortably fill your 3 peppers.
At this time start a gentle saute on the tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and some garlic powder. Cook for a minute or two and transfer to the pot you will use for steaming.
Fill the peppers with meat mixture, gently pressing mix to make sure the pepper is fully filled. Place upright into pot on top of tomato base.
Simmer/steam over medium low, covered, for ten minutes. Add mozzarella to tops of each pepper and cook for another 10 minutes.
Give each person a whole pepper for plating beauty. Have them cut the pepper in half and then top each half with some of the tomato base.
Serve with a green vegetable of your choosing.
Blessed be... and happy cooking!