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It is time for a confession. Until we started testing this new recipe for stuffed peppers, I had never made a vegetable stuffed with anything. It always seemed too fancy to me and it looked like a lot of work. After testing this recipe quite a few times, I realized that it is not a lot of work to make stuffed peppers, it is actually pretty easy. It also tastes great and looks really nice, so maybe I was right on the fancy part.
My favorite thing about this recipe is that the filling can be made in advance. To make the filling, cook ground sausage or beef; then add seasoning, sauce, rice, and cheese. This filling can then go right into pepper halves to bake or it can be saved for another time. You can save the filling in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can save it in the freezer for up to three months. The best thing about making the filling ahead of time is that you can make as many, or as few, stuffed peppers as you need. For example, if you have a family of four, you could make four stuffed peppers right away and then save the filling for the other four for another day.
I hope you will not wait long to try out our Stuffed Pepper recipe.
Stuffed Peppers
- 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage, turkey sausage, or beef
- 1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 can (15 ounces) spaghetti sauce
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)
- 4 green or red peppers (softball size)
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Sauté sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked to 155°F. Pour off any fat.
- Stir in oregano, spaghetti sauce, rice, and 1/2 cup cheese.
- Wash peppers, cut in half lengthwise, and remove seeds. Arrange in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Spoon sausage mixture into the peppers, mounding on the top.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top. Continue to cook another 10 minutes.
- Do not pour fat down the drain. Pour fat from sausage into a bowl. Place bowl in refrigerator until hard and then spoon into the trash.
- To make smaller meals, freeze filling in three or four portions. When ready to eat, thaw a portion and bake in two or three pepper halves.
