Frugal Meal Ideas Make Me a Peppy Pepper Prepper

At the end of one very busy day, I realized I had a videoconference coming up in 20 minutes and I had not begun the dinner preparation that I had intended. I didn’t want to wait until after my appointment to start something because we would be very hungry by then. So I turned the oven on to 350 and pondered what to do.

Well, I had bought 3 red bell peppers from the clearance rack at the market because they had a couple tiny soft spots and the skins were starting to wrinkle ever so slightly. So they were my top priority to be eaten. That’s how frugal meal ideas are born. Use your fresh, seasonal produce in the proper order and pair with pantry staples for zero waste cooking that is also budget friendly.

Buying Peppers

Red bell peppers aren’t cheap, especially if you prefer organic. Back in the days when I would send my husband to the store with a list, I would tell him beforehand, “Pick the biggest ones.” They’re usually priced individually rather than by the pound, so you have to be selective on those type of items. What do you think happened on that shopping trip? Yup, another phone call asking, “When you say the biggest, do you mean the tallest or the fattest?” This still makes me laugh. He’s so adorable.

Preparation

So, as I was looking at these peppers wondering what I could throw together super fast that would be ready to eat after my meeting, I decided: Stuffed peppers, of course! No time to pre-cook ingredients. No problem.

So, for 3 peppers, I mixed together in a bowl:

• about 3/4 cup of brown rice
• 1/2 pound ground turkey and
• a small part of an onion, diced
• water or stock

You could add to this any combination of herbs and spices you like. I happened to be in the mood for:

• cumin
• turmeric
• coriander
• cardamom
• ginger
• cinnamon
• allspice
• garlic powder

Salt, of course. I’m probably never going to mention salt much because it’s a given, right? Everyone usually seasons with black pepper too, but I prefer grains of paradise.

So, after putting about an inch of water into the bottom of a casserole dish, I filled my hollowed out peppers with the rice/meat mixture. Leaving half an inch of space at the top allows room for them to expand while cooking. Poured in enough water or stock into the peppers to fill them and put the stem back on top. I covered the dish with foil so it could steam, and popped it in the oven. An hour and a half later, we sat down for a delicious and healthy meal.

Meanwhile the quick, no fuss preparation afforded me enough time to put on mascara and bronzer for my meeting. Who says frugal meal ideas require a lot of work?

Obviously you could use any type of ground meat or meat substitute or add some finely chopped vegetables to the mixture instead. You could top the whole thing with cheese or tomato sauce or whatever else suits your fancy. Cooking without a recipe is easy when you start with an anchor ingredient.

And by the way, if it comes down to it, I would choose the fattest pepper rather than the tallest for this dish. 🤣

What about meat and potatoes? Yes, we eat those too. Please read No Small Potatoes to learn more.