Yes, those are my kitchen helpers. Yes, they enjoy helping, and also eating the stuffed bell peppers. It is a request fairly often. I just happened to catch him in one of his "concentration" faces as he was being careful when cutting the lids off the bell pepper. It is a face only a mother could love. Okay, that's not true. That kid is frickin' adorable. So, here we go with how-to make this easy dinner for the whole family or for a nice batch of ready-to-go meals for yourself. It is also an epic way to get some veggies in your body!
Starting off with ingredients: 
You can use ground meat and different combinations of that ground meat. We have used ground turkey alone or mixed with ground beef. Pick whatever you like to eat. Also, grab some shredded cheese, bell peppers, frozen veggies, and bacon. That is it. Those are the main ingredients: Meat, veggie, and cheese. Even the cheese is optional if you are trying to eat more clean. I like frozen veggies because they are easy to cook pretty quickly. They are even faster if you use the steam bag.
Here are the spices that I typically use. I mix it up depending on my mood. Sometimes we add marinara or other red sauces to the mixture as well. We have garlic salt, no-salt seasoning, Santa Maria's seasoning, and chopped onion. When I have more time, I will chop onions and garlic and saute them in a pan with a little butter. This is good in a pinch. What flavors do you like? Use those flavors. Sometimes I even throw in some cajun seasoning. This recipe is versatile, which is a beautiful thing.
You can start by prepping the bell peppers. You can either create lids for them by cutting around their tops and pulling out the seeds or you can cut through the top of the pepper and get rid of the stem without having a lid.
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This is also a great opportunity to get your kids involved with cooking and bonus: teach them some knife skills.
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Put your bell peppers in the oven for about 20minutes at 350 degrees F. For the filling, start cooking your meat in the skillet. I used grounds turkey this time. After cooking, make sure to drain all that fat away. I do this while putting a colander over a bowl. After the meat has been drained, add a generous portion of spices to your meat.
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Veggies and Bacon is next. I cook the veggies in a skillet with the same spices. Cook them to taste. You can even cook them the day before, so that they are already prepped. I cut the bacon strips in half and fry up about a pound of bacon. After the bacon is cooked- not crispy and not limp, but just right- I chop them up into bits. You can use bacon bits that are premade, but honestly, it just isn't quite the same. Use that option if you are short on time and patience.
This is another opportunity to teach your kid how to cook bacon and respect hot bacon grease!
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Time for the cheese! I use a shredded mixed cheese combo. I combine the bacon, veggies, cheese into my pan of meat as I finish prepping them.
Mix everything together: I transfer everything to a big bowl so I don't make a huge mess when mixing. Then scoop into your bell peppers. Another kid helping opportunity.
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Bake the bell peppers for 20 more minutes at 350 degrees F. You don't need to cover them. This will result in firm, but cooked bell peppers. When you pull them out, you can serve them with or without silverware. We eat them with our hands as often as not. Just pick it up and dive in! I hope you enjoy! It is very filling, healthy, and even shocker, delicious!
