Peter Piper

So every once in a while I come across a recipe that goes over well with my family. Here is one of them.


I started searching for a recipe when we got a bunch of peppers from some friends. These friends of ours have a garden and have been so kind to share what their garden has produced this season. Tomatoes, jalapeños, banana peppers, green beans, zucchini, squash...seriously, its been awesome. The last time we saw them they gave us a bunch of peppers, so I got inspired. I am not a huge pepper fan but my family is, so I went searching for a stuffed pepper recipe that looked tasty and that was gluten free. After looking at many, I combined a bunch of them and this is what I came up with. Give it a try and see what you think!


Sausage Stuffed Peppers
6 medium red or green bell peppers, cleaned and cored
1/2 lb sausage
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatos (I used a roasted garlic and onion)
1 cup uncooked rice
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil
1 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
4 slices mozzarella cheese (or 2 cups shredded)


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 4-5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking dish and set your cleaned and cored peppers inside of it. Use balls of tinfoil to prop them up if you have trouble making them sit correctly.
Cook rice as directed and put into a large mixing bowl.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, brown the sausage. Drain grease and put browned sausage in the mixing bowl with the rice.
Add the olive oil to the pan, and add the onions, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes, until the onions are tender. Add the can of tomatoes and heat through. Pour into bowl with rice and sausage. Add parmigaiano reggiano and herbs and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper.
Fill the peppers with the sausage-and-rice mixture. Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until stuffing is bubbly. Top with mozzarella and return to oven until cheese is melted (you may want to turn on the broiler for this.)  Enjoy!