The Healthy My Ass Cookbook

Stuffed Peppers

Another from my growing up, but with more flavor and an Italian flare.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Fill an 8 quart or larger pot or dutch oven which has a lid with enough water to allow the Bell Peppers to float.  Add a generous tablespoon of Salt and set aside.  Chop 1 cup each of the Onion and Celery.

Heat the Butter and Olive Oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot.  Sauté the chopped onion and celery for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  Start preparing the Long-grain Rice as directed on the package.  Add the diced Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, crushed Garlic, Oregano, Basil, 1 teaspoon of the Salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the Black Pepper to the sautéed vegetables.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Finish the rice and set both aside to cool.

At the outer edge and peak of the tops of the whole peppers, insert a paring knife deep into the pepper and cut around the edge peak to completely encircle the stem.  Remove the stem and seeds.  Remove any remaining membrane with your fingers then turn it upside down and whack it against your hand to remove any remaining seeds.  Rinse peppers under cold water.  Place the peppers in the large pot of water, turning to let any air escape.  Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Gently remove the peppers with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain and cool.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Egg with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, along with the Worcestershire Sauce and Fennel Seeds.  Gently stir to blend.  Crumble in the Ground Beef and Italian Sausage.  Add the cooked rice, 1&1/2 cups of the sauce mixture and 1/2 cup each of the shredded Parmesan Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese.  Mix well.

Spray the bottom of a 3 quart casserole or baking dish with vegetable spray.  Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and place standing up in the dish.  Spoon sauce over the stuffed peppers until it starts to fall over the sides of the peppers.  You should have lots of sauce left over.

Bake for 55 minutes.  Top the stuffed peppers with the remaining mozzarella cheese and bake another 5 to 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.  Meanwhile, warm the remaining sauce to serve on the side along with the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Notes:

In my family these were always made with green bell peppers, probably because they were cheaper.  In fact, until I started cooking myself I didn't even know that bell peppers came in any other color.  So the first time I made them I used green bell peppers as pictured, but the next time I'm going with a rainbow of colors (any surprise there?).