Stuffed Peppers and Homemade Burgers

It is definitely getting to be BBQ weather. Well it would be if we could stay above zero for long enough. I put together some burgers but couldn't be bothered to start up the BBQ so I grilled them inside on my breakky grill. It was great because I could get some char on the burgers but it was definitely missing the smokey element from the BBQ. To be honest, I didn't miss it this time.

On a more personal note, have you even done something that scared the hell out of you? You know that stressful feeling you get? You know that feeling when the situation is finally over and the stress is released? Yes? Well that is me today. Celebrate! I might even get my butt out the door tomorrow and run again. Well, at least if it isn't freezing I will.

I know that stuffed pepper recipes usually call for some ground meet but I knew I was going to make burgers so I went for a vegetarian stuffing and that means mushrooms!

I roughly chopped about a dozen medium sized mushrooms.

To make the peppers stand up, trim off a bit of the bottom, set aside. Lob the tops off the peppers and clean out the seeds and membranes. Finely, chop up the top and bottom bits with an onion. Sweat them down in a pan with some oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook about 1/2 cup of rice with one cup of water.

I only wanted to make three peppers so I halved the recipe I was following. Don't worry if your peppers get some holes when you trim them up. Set the peppers into an oven safe dish that is just big enough for them. I used a bread pan.

Once the peppers and onions have softened, add the mushrooms.

Cook down until the moisture is cooked out of the mushrooms.

Once the rice is cooked, toss with the veggies.

Stuff the peppers. Cover and into the oven for 20 minutes at 375F.

Time to start the burgers. Toss one packet of onion soup mix into a big bowl.

Grab your ground beef and an egg.

I weigh and press my burgers to be sure they are all the same size and thickness. Normally, I would put these onto the BBQ but it was cold out and I wanted to use my breakfast grill. It was messy and smokey but the burgers turned out great. Not sure if I won or not. Haha 

To finish off the burgers I slathered some BBQ sauce on and added a couple slices of cheddar cheese. I covered the burgers to let the cheese melt. I served them on my homemade buns.  I put a few slices of cheese on the peppers and broiled them on high for a few minutes until the cheese was bubbly. Enjoy!