Well I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. I LOVE stuffed bell peppers. Love them I tell you. With a passion even. Could eat them every week for the rest of my life! So there. Now you know how I really feel about stuffed peppers. But have I ever mentioned that I like preparing them too? No, probably not. But it’s true. I like fixing them as much as I like eating them! And why is that you might wonder? Well……they are quick and easy to prepare. And really you can’t go wrong with whatever you choose to plop into the mix. Oh OK, chocolate chips might not work so well. But anything in the savory, cheesy, meaty, vegetative, starchy arena most likely would work. Stuffed peppers are kind of the quintessential “clean out your refrigerator baby!” dish for the masses. (Can you really ask more from a lowly vegetable than that? I think not too.)
So yesterday, while I was wondering what to stuff the last two beautiful green peppers I had in my fridge, I decided to “shop” my freezer and fridge. (God knows I don’t want to go to a grocery store any more than absolutely necessary during this coronavirus crisis. I don’t want Mr. C. to have to go either. We only have 3 masks to our name, and we want to save them in case of an emergency. But I digress….)
Anyway, I started with some frozen bulk Italian sausage I had been meaning to use for a while now. The sausage led to mushrooms, which led to the scant remains of a large plastic container of spinach, which naturally paved the way for cheese to enter the game. The rest as they say is history. But unlike some of the horrific history that is currently being made, I plan to repeat this dish in the future. Maybe not until I can get my well-scrubbed hands on more bell peppers, but as far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better!
So if you happen to have a couple of bell peppers in your fridge (who cares what color they may be), stuff those suckers with either this mix of ingredients, or go shopping in your freezer or refrigerator as I did and come up with your own combination of ingredients. Just don’t add chocolate chips. Trust me on this one.
As always – peace, love, and happy cooking to all.
- 2 lg. bell peppers (green, red, orange, or yellow)
- 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- ½ lb. bulk Italian sausage
- ¼ c. finely chopped onion
- 4 medium sized button mushrooms, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tsp. tomato paste
- ½ c. dry white wine
- ½ tsp. paprika
- ¼ tsp. seasoned salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 c. baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
- ½ c. cooked rice (I use whatever leftover rice mix I have in the fridge)
- ⅓ c. grated Parmesan, Pecorino-Romano, or Asiago cheese
- 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, plus more for on top
Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise. Discard the seeds. Place in a lightly greased shallow baking pan, preferably one with a lid. (If you don’t have a pan with a lid, you can cover the pan with aluminum foil.)
Heat the olive oil in a large fry pan. And the sausage and crumble as it cooks until it’s nicely browned. Add the onion and chopped mushrooms. Cook until the onion is starting to soften. Add the garlic and parsley. Cook for one minute.
Add the tomato paste and white wine. Cook until no liquid remains.
Add the paprika, seasoned salt, black pepper, spinach, and cooked rice. Stir to blend all the ingredients.
Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stuff the half peppers with sausage mixture, dividing equally and gently packing the mixture down.
Bake covered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 60 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Remove from oven, remove lid, and add a bit more mozzarella on top of the peppers. Return to the oven uncovered, and bake for a few minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve hot out of the oven.
Bonus – pictures of 2 of our cats
