Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

Stuffed Peppers are incredibly easy, and you can fill them with a number of different fillings to change it up. Some people prefer ground sirloin and cheese, while some use risotto or rice. This version uses spiced stuffing, which goes great with Italian dishes.

Ingredients for Stuffed Peppers

* 4 whole bell peppers, washed
* 4-6 celery stalks, cleaned and sliced into small pieces
* 1 can diced Italian style tomatoes, or two whole fresh tomatoes diced
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or 1/2 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (add the fresh version in with the veggie mixture below)
* 2 tbsp. olive oil
* 1/4 cup water
* 1/2 cup fresh sliced white mushrooms (optional)
* 1/8 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the stuffing by placing the olive oil, water, celery and mushrooms in a pan and cook to a boil. Add more water if the veggies absorb the water. Drain the canned diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes). Remove as much water as possible. Heat the tomatoes with the mixture for 5 minutes on low to soften the tomatoes.

2. While the water is boiling, cut the top of the bell pepper off (just the very top) once cleaned. Hollow the inside of the pepper, remove any seeds, and try to remove as much of the white pulp on the inside. Rinse the pepper and turn upside down to get the water to drain out.

3. Once the water has boiled, add the spices to the mixture and simmer for 30 seconds to let the spices rehydrate.

4. Add the dry stuffing mix to the water remove from the heat. Fluff the stuffing with a fork. If the stuffing is too dry, add extra water a few tablespoons at a time. Use less water for crispy stuffing, more for a wetter stuffing consistency.

5. Add the stuffing to the hollowed peppers. Fill completely. Add shredded mozarella or fresh mozarella, along with your favorite red tomato sauce if desired, or just make them plain.

6. Place the peppers in a glass pan and heat in the oven for 15-20 minutes, just make sure the peppers are slightly soft when they come out of the oven. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Some people use a bed of risotto to make this dish a full meal, or just serve it as an appetizer.

Are you looking to do something else with your peppers? Use these tips to prepare some fresh peppers!

• Thoroughly wash the bell pepper with fruit and vegetable wash using a vegetable scrub brush.


• After cleaning, pierce the top of the pepper around the stem. Make an incision around the entire stem and remove the knife.


• Pull up on the stem to remove the entire middle of the bell pepper. This should remove much of the pulpy interior and seeds.


• To remove the rest of the interior, give the inside of the bell pepper a quick rinse to get rid of the seeds. If additional seeds remain, cut them out with a sharp knife.


• Next, cut the pepper in half lengthwise. Halve each half again lengthwise. Cut the thin white strips of pulp off of each quarter.


• Cut each quarter lenghwise into thin strips. They're now ready to serve, or to dice up!