Stuffed Green Peppers

by Christine Goble
(Port Perry, Ontario, Canada)

I came up with this recipe years ago when we had so many sweet fresh peppers from the garden and some butcher made sausage in the fridge. Served with some fresh mixed balsamic greens, how much more comfort food can you get.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup long grain Rice (not instant)

5 large green peppers cut in half length-wise

5 large Italian or Tomato & Basil Sausage(or

1 lb ground pork or beef if you prefer)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp Olive Oil

1 large Onion Finely Chopped

6-8 heaping tbsp of your favourite salsa (hot or med)

1 1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 tsp dried Rosemary

1/4 tsp dried Thyme

1/4 tsp Cajun Spice or Cheyenne Pepper

1/4 tsp Onion Salt

1/4 tsp Oregano

1/4 tsp Basil

Freshly Ground Pepper

1 can of your favorite Tomato or Pasta Sauce

PREPARATION

Cook rice as per package instructions and set aside.

Boil a pot of salted water to blanch cook the green pepper halves before stuffing them.

When water has come to a boil, put peppers a few at a time and cook ONLY 5 minutes.

Remove and do the next batch and set aside.

Heat Olive Oil in dutch oven and sauté garlic and finely chopped onions.

Remove sausage from the casing and add cooking until sausage has been browned.

If there is a lot of fat, remove, leaving a little to be absorbed by the rice for flavoring.

Add in the cooked rice and mix up well.

Add in the salsa (start with about six heaping Tbls full adding more if needed).

Mix up until it gets to be a goopy mixture.

You do not want to add too much because it will be too runny.

Add in the spices and only 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese - taste to see if you need more seasonings.

Now you are ready to stuff the pepper halves.

In a roasting pan, only add enough tomato or pasta sauce to cover the bottom.

Place your peppers on top of the sauce once stuffed then top with some more of the sauce over each one.

Finish by topping with remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand about 5 minutes and enjoy!

This makes enough to stuff approximately 8-10 large halves stuffed good.