Stuffed Peppers

I felt like I broke some rules with this recipe.  Typically, stuffed peppers are made with green peppers and I used red & yellow.  Also, I sliced my peppers in half sideways versus cutting the tops off.  I really liked the results.  The red & yellow peppers have a much milder flavor than the green and cutting sideways made the presentation nicer and avoided the pepper tipping over when serving.  The ground turkey absorbed the flavor of the sausage and garlic making the stuffing taste like it was a big Italian meatball ... YUM!  I made a total of 12 peppers, baked 2 of them for dinner and divided the rest of them into containers and put them in the freezer for another day.  I love making extra when I cook and freezing it so the next time all the work is already done.  You can serve these alone or with a side of spaghetti.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
6 bell peppers (red, orange, yellow or green)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup cooked brown or white rice
1 lb Italian sausage (remove casings, cook & drain fat)
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1 egg
4 oz mozzarella cheese
Makes 12 stuffed peppers

Prep Peppers ...Slice peppers sideways remove stems and white membrane.  Put in a pot, cover with water, add a dash of salt and bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and rinse with cold water.

Prepare rice according to package instructions.  1/2 cup dry rice will make 1 cup cooked.

Remove casings from sausage and cook over low heat until browned. Drain fat.

ready for the freezer

Preheat oven to 350'.  Sauté onion & garlic in olive oil until the onion is softened.  Mix meats, seasonings, rice, egg, onion/garlic, and 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce in a large bowl.  Stuff pepper halves with the mixture.  Top with additional spaghetti sauce. Cover with foil and bake 50 minutes.  Remove foil, top with shredded cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.  The peppers may have juice around the bottom of the pan ... make sure to drain off before serving. Serve alone or with a side of spaghetti.