Simple Italian Peppers

NOTE: Sorry for the long silence. I am having continual issues with my health that make me slow and tired. Sorry! I do have posts written and scheduled for the rest of the month so check back often as there should be something new up every couple of days.

I recently had Italian Stuffed Peppers as an appetizer at a restaurant; they were lovely, warm and filling, the kind of food that makes cold weather feel cozy. So I set about trying to recreate the recipe. I found a version of this on Allrecipe.com, but it was a super busy recipe that involved steaming the peppers and doing all sorts of extra busy work, which who has time for that?

So not only did I want to recreate the recipe, I wanted to keep it simple and I think I’ve done that.

Because Italian sausage can get expensive, I use zucchini as a meat extender to give us all more bang for our buck. Since the sausage is so heavily spiced, no one will notice the zucchini which also happens to make it easier to sneak in veggies for your picky eaters.

Ingredients

-Sweet peppers OR Hot Hungarian peppers if you want some heat. You’ll want at least 4 which, when cut, will yield 8 servings. For leftovers increase the quantity to 6-8 peppers.

-1 package sweet or hot Italian sausage (usually contains 5 links) or 1.5lbs ground sausage without casing

-Diced onion

-Minced garlic

-1 egg

-1/4 cup Parmsean cheese

-1 cup grated zucchini

-Spaghetti sauce (1 jar if you’re only using 4 peppers, 2 jars if using more.)

-Shredded mozzarella

Instructions

1.Slice and clean the peppers. Try to get them sliced so that they’ll comfortably hold meat—sometimes that can be tricky depending on pepper shape. If using Hungarian Hot peppers, please wear gloves to keep the oil off your skin. I don’t find these peppers to be hot for eating, but they sure do burn my eyes and skin.

2.Place peppers in casserole dish.

3.Grate the zucchini and set aside.

4.Remove casing from sausages and set aside.

5.In a large mixing bowl, beat your egg and then add; onion, garlic, parmesan cheese, zucchini and sausage. Mix well.

6.Place sausage mix inside peppers. If you run out of peppers and still have meat, just make meatballs and put them next to the peppers.

7.Top the peppers with spaghetti sauce.

8.Bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes.

9.Top with cheese for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Serve hot from the oven and enjoy the melded flavors of peppers, tomatoes, and sausage.