Meatball Stuffed peppers

If making marinara from scratch, do so first.

Then preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius), bring a pot of water (larger enough to fully submerse your peppers) to a boil, and take your meat out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.

Cut the top ends off the peppers, keeping them in one piece to make a lid for your stuffed peppers, remove and discard the seeds, and cut a small piece off the bottom to make a flat surface so your peppers can stand up straight. Add peppers and tops to the boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the meatball mix. Combine ground beef, egg, onion, garlic, 2 tbsp parmesan, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Gently mix with your hands till fully combined. Be careful not to over mix or the meat could become tough.

Now assemble the peppers. Place the peppers on a baking sheet lined with foil, parchment paper, or lightly coated with fat/oil. Season the inside of the peppers and tops with salt and pepper. Then fill each pepper with 2 tbsp marinara sauce, divide the meat mixture in half, and add one half to one pepper and the other half to the other pepper. Leave some room to add marinara and shape the top of the meat mount like a crater to better hold the marinara. If you can't fit all the meat mixture into the peppers, make meatballs (a little larger than the size of a golf ball) out of the rest of the mixture and set aside. Then add 1/4 cup marinara to each pepper and top each pepper with 1 tbsp parmesan. Place the pepper tops on top and bake for 1 hr. If making a few meatballs, add them 30 minutes into cooking so they can cook for 30 minutes.

Once the peppers are soft and the filling is cooked through, they are done. Remove the peppers from the oven. Remove the tops and sprinkle with pine nuts (if using), then return the tops. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy! I usually break mine apart to help it cool faster and serve it with extra parmesan.