Meat-Stuffed Peppers in Gravy (Where I Come From, It's Called Gravy. Deal.)

Meat-stuffed Peppers hold a special place in my heart for a number of reasons: one, there is something about stuffing a pepper that is oddly SO MUCH FUN, two, its great to do with a number of people so that this way you can catch up and laugh as you cook, three, it's my grandma's favorite dish, four, IT'S DELICIOUS. Oh, and it uses wine, making the entree all the more better.

Did I also mention that it's delicious? Gotta say it twice for emphasis. Oh, and if anyone in your house is vegetarian, like my girlfriend, well then, I guess you win because it's MORE for you. ;)

Ingredients

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

5 red or green bell peppers (cored and washed of all their seeds and inside ribbing - just make a round cut at the top of the pepper for easy access into the pepper)

4 pounds of ground beef (seems like a lot, but I will tell you why soon)

6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

Two eggs

3 cups of Seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

1 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano

1 1/2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce (can be omitted)

Two 28 oz. cans of Tomato Puree (use these cans for two cans of water, also needed in the recipe)

2 cups dry red wine (don't forget to pour a glass for yourself)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, mix together the meat, tabasco, salt, pepper, 1 cup of the wine, bread crumbs, Parmigiano, eggs, onion, and garlic. 

2. Then, take your clean, hollowed out peppers and begin to fill them with the meat mixture. Fill each pepper up completely until the rim of where you cut it at the top. 

3. In a large saute pan, fry each pepper, on medium, turning it every 4 or 5 minutes or so, to cook the meat, but also not to burn the pepper. 

4. When all peppers are cooked ( I found that I wanted to speed up the process, so I used two saute pans on the stove, using 1/4 cups of extra virgin olive oil in each, then putting everything together in a big soup pot for this next step), set them aside on a dish. IF YOU STILL HAVE LEFT OVER MEAT THAT DIDN'T ALL FIT IN THE PEPPERS, BALL UP THE MEAT INTO 1 1/2 INCH MEAT BALLS, FRY THEM UNTIL COOKED AND ADD INTO THE GRAVY AT STEP 6! This way you can have a tasty dinner on another night!

5. Transfer all the meat and pepper juices in the pan, scraping the pan for all those tasty bits and pieces (this is called de-glazing the pan) into a soup pot. On medium, cook the tomato puree and the rest of the wine. Do so for about 4 minutes, or until all the alcohol cooks out of the sauce. Then add in your water, and some more salt and pepper - REMEMBER YOU WANT TO SEASON EVERY ELEMENT OF YOUR DISH!

6. Add in the peppers into the gravy and cook for 45 minutes (this will soften the peppers and make the most delicious sauce of your life). If you had meatballs, incorporate them into the sauce now.

7. Put the meatballs in a freezable container, freeze them, serve the peppers with a side of rice or pasta and enjoy! You can also freeze any leftover peppers :)