Italian Stuffed Peppers

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!   Here's some love from Carson, Chip, & Dixie:

I've had this stuffed peppers recipe pinned for a LONG time!  I kept putting it off because it was out of my comfort zone...for taste and preparation.  This is embarrassing but up until a few months ago I had never cooked with bell peppers.  Crazy, I know.  Now?  I'm kind of obsessed.  I've gone through 7 in the past week!  These stuffed peppers are delicious and they were a nice change from our usual chicken meals!

Italian Stuffed Peppers

What You Need:

Brown rice, cooked (I use boil in bag because it's impossible to mess up!)

4 green bell peppers

1/2 white onion, diced

3 tsp. olive oil, divided

3 links Italian Sausage (I used chicken-pork sausage)

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper, to taste

shredded mozzarella cheese, for topping

How to Make:
Preheat your oven to 375°.

Prep your peppers: Cut the tops off of your peppers and scoop the insides out.  Set your tops aside (don't toss them)!  Place your hollowed peppers into a baking dish of your choice.  I chose to use 8x8 like the original recipe because the 4 peppers fit nice and snug!

Start your rice.  My boil-in-bag rice takes 8-10 minutes to cook.

Take those pepper caps you side aside and dice them up nice and small!  While you're slicing and dicing go ahead and dice up your onion.

Heat up your skillet with 2 teaspoons of olive oil.  Toss in your chopped peppers and onions and saute for about 2-3 minutes.  {This is when it starts to smell good!}

Remove the veggies from the heat and transfer to a bowl.  Now toss your sausage in the skillet and let it brown up.  

Once your sausage is browned and cooked through, you can add your chopped veggies back in.  Slowly mix in your oregano.  Let saute for about 3-4 minutes.  {Now it's smelling really good!}  

Slowly mix in your rice, paresan cheese, salt, and pepper.  Mix well and saute for a few more minutes.  {Yum!}

Now stuff those peppers!  I packed my peppers full just like you would pack brown sugar when baking.  Once your peppers are stuffed stick them in your [375°] oven and set your timer for 30 minutes.

Remove your peppers from the oven and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Put them back in the oven for about 5-10 minutes until your cheese has fully melted.  

So delicious!  Nick said these were something he never thought he would see me make and he was really excited!  I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to try these and I hope you will too!

Here is the original pin (my recipe is adapted a little):

Source: pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

I'm linking up with these lovely ladies: