Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Millet Stuffed Peppers

I don't know why I have never thought of millet vs. rice when I stuffed peppers to freeze last summer.   I'm very happy with the taste of my "thrown together" recipe too.  We had a so-so bell pepper year, so I had to (gulp!) buy these (organic of course).  They were pretty large, so I purchased 4, however the amount of filling I made, would have stuffed 5 large peppers.

Here is how I made them, and the next batch I make will be doubled and some frozen for winter.  I have never frozen cooked millet, but from what I have read, it will freeze well.  However to freeze these, I will blanch the peppers first, so the crunch won't be there.  When cooked with fresh peppers, you get a nice crunchy pepper.

Made with organic ingredients, home grown etc.  


Millet Stuffed Peppers
5 large bell peppers, cut in half, seeds removed
Set aside and continue:

1 cup millet, rinsed
3 cups broth (your choice, vegetable or chicken)
Cook millet per instructions.  My instructions said to bring it to a boil, cover, simmer 20 minutes or so until liquid is absorbed. 

I removed it from the pan and poured it into a mixing bowl and rinsed out my pot.

Add:
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 3 tomatoes, diced (thawed frozen, or fresh, or canned)
1 jalapeno (or 2, or hot pepper of your choice), optional
3/4 tsp. cumin (I may add more next time)
Fresh cilantro (I was lucky to have a handful in the herb garden) 

I poured 1 pint of homemade tomato sauce into the bottom of a glass baking dish and placed the stuffed peppers on top.  I baked it for 20 minutes or so, at 350°F.  The peppers will be crunchy, but delicious. 

We topped our peppers with the sauce, and some grated Parmesan cheese.  My vegetarian daughter was slobbering over hers, and saying she wanted my recipe for herself.  I had to laugh, because she's not been eating any of my vegetarian meals lately (she wants to be a grown up and buy her own groceries, but has realized she is too lazy to cook healthy).


When I tossed the mix together, I never measured the amount of cumin, so I am estimating.  I may had a bit more the next time I make them.

I want to try adding my homemade sausage to this for us meat eaters here too. 

I will still freeze some peppers using Mama Pea's recipe with beef and rice too.  I'm just tickled I found another way to incorporate millet into our diet and not have it taste so-so.

Millet is packed with B vitamins and other important nutrients.  Update:  The remaining millet filling was combined with scrambled eggs and eaten on tortillas for breakfast.  The taste?  Delicious!  The garlic brings out a good flavor. 

10 comments:

Sam I Am...... said...

Looks good but I cannot veer away from the old standard recipe from when I grew up...sounds like the one Mama Pea makes.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Sam I Am, it's different, but healthy too. I try to have millet in our diet more often, due to the high amount of B vitamins, and it's gluten free too. Hubby was raving how the millet mix tasted in his breakfast burrito too. It's a grain that is very healthy.

Vicki said...

Those peppers look so good. I hadn't thought to use millet as I have a ton of rice on hand, but I think I need to give it a try.

Rain said...

I used to make stuffed peppers with rice and sausages, it's such a great combination! But since being with Alex, his digestion can't handle peppers at all, I haven't had one in ages! We do put peppers on our pizzas, but only for flavour, we take them off and it works for us, though I would love to eat a stuffed pepper one of these days! :)

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Vicki, millet is so healthy, and you can typically buy in bulk and freeze it. A little goes a long way too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Rain, so sorry to hear peppers upset Alex's stomach. You might be just as successful to stuff tomatoes with it too, although tomatoes are in the millet mix I made. Maybe add something else like black beans?

mamasmercantile said...

I usually stuff peppers or tomatoes with rice mushrooms and onions. Seeing your recipe has opened my mind to so many other combinations.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks mamasmercantile, mushrooms and onions sound delicious too.

Mama Pea said...

Oh, does that ever sound good! We're millet lovers here and I have quite a few green peppers left from when I de-nuded the plants and cleaned out the bed so I think I'm going to try this. Thanks, Kristina, for the idea!

I've made my regular recipe for the stuffed green peppers and poured tomato sauce over the top of the peppers in the baking dish. That way it permeates the stuffed peppers a little more and we like that sometimes rather than sprinkling cheese over the top before baking.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, pouring the sauce over vs. under it sounds divine! I'm going to have to try that now. Thanks.