Thursday, September 28, 2017

~ Sausage Stuffed Peppers Recipe ~ *Gluten Free*


  Well, look at this. I'm actually getting a post out and it isn't just a 7 Quick Takes.

  I'm calling that a win!

 Things have slowed down a tiny bit. Mainly because Addison is not allowed to be around germs or germ ridden places until her stitches are out next week. Which means we have been sticking really close to home. I have never been so thankful for our village (Church family, real family, neighbors and our homeschool co-op/friends.) They have all been such a blessing this past couple of weeks. It has been such an out pouring of prayers, calls, messages, texts, gifts for Addison, help with shuttling the other kids, stopping by for coffee, and even bringing delicious food.

 A great big thank you to all of you amazing people! We love you guys!

 This afternoon, we did venture out to take Emma to cross country practice.

 While we were out we ran a couple of errands, that did not require Addison to get out of the car.

 We went to the pharmacy, stopped at the office, put gas in the van and we even stopped to see our favorite farmers market people, Trish and Andy. (They started out as the nice couple who sold us our weekly supply of fruits and vegetables. Then they became customers of ours as well. Sometime over the summer, we became friends.)

 While I was there, Andy gifted us some bell peppers that were in need of being used up ASAP. They were still good, but not at the peak of freshness. Andy and Trish are good about making sure their produce is top notch. Their loss is our gain. :) I also grabbed an onion, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, cucumbers and some cherry tomatoes(Addison can't get enough of these lately.)

 The plan was to chop the peppers and freeze them for this Winter. However, while I was in the kitchen peeling and chopping apples for apple butter(More on that later). It occurred to me that we had all of the ingredients for stuffed peppers.

  It's a family favorite!

 

  I figured you all might like to try it too.

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SAUSAGE STUFFED PEPPERS




Ingredients

- 6-8 bell peppers, any color
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb pork sausage(I used regular flavor today, but you can use spicy if you want more of a kick)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, finely diced
-  4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped (I actually used the cherry tomatoes we bought today)
- Red pepper flakes, as needed (1-2 tsp)
- 1-1 1/2 cups cooked rice
-  1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the tops off the peppers. Remove stem from top. Remove seeds and membrane from whole pepper. Chop remaining top portion of bell pepper. Set the whole portion of bell peppers in baking dish just large enough to hold them upright. You don't want them falling over half way through cooking.

Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skilled over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the lumps, until the meat is cooked through.
Add the chopped bell pepper and onions into the skillet cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the garlic and zucchini to the skillet and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
Stir in the rice and 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Cook until heated through.

Fill the peppers with the rice mixture and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Pour 1-2 cups of water into the bottom of the dish.  Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.
 

ENJOY!

 

We like to top this with sour cream and serve with chips and salsa.

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If you wanted this to be a 'clean' meal. You could swap the sausage for ground beef, ground chicken or even ground pork.


If you decide to give this recipe a try, be sure to stop back by and let me know how you like it!

~Lyndsay









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