Stuffed Peppers

Okay, Kaitlin Rose.  This is for you.

I know I've told all of you about her but either way, Kaitlin is my ex-suite mate from Mizzou and dear friend.  She has finally re-entered the blogging world and has a quirky little blog called Small Things.  And I adore it.  Almost as much as I adore her.  If you haven't checked it out yet you should by clicking here.

A few days ago she posted about Cooking in College.  And while she said some very sweet things about me and my blog she also pointed out how complicated and how most of my recipes have way too many ingredients.  Which are completely valid points.  It's a personality flaw.  I'll admit it.  I like playing with a long list of ingredients.  However, I realize that this is impractical for some.  Especially those in college, whom Kaitlin pointed out, are looking for cheap, simple ingredients that store well and leave leftovers for multiple meals.

So, all of that being said I was really aiming to fulfill all of those things.  And I think I did a pretty good job.  The ingredients are all fairly inexpensive, there are a lot of options for substitutions based on what is in your fridge, and it leaves a hefty amount of leftovers.  Also, I tried to go above and beyond by finding a dish I knew she would love.  Stuffed peppers fall into that category.  So, here you go Kaitlin.  I hope you enjoy it!

Stuffed Peppers...

from How Sweet It Is

Makes: 4 large peppers   Prep Time: 20 minutes   Cook Time: 50 minutes   Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 4 yellow, green, orange, or red peppers
• 1lb ground chicken, turkey, beef, sausage or frozen shrimp (whatever you have handy!)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (I use Trader Joe's frozen rice)
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, or any other grated cheese you have handy
• 1 29 ounce can of tomato sauce, or marinara
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, or half and half
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.  Slice the tops off of the peppers, remove the ribs and seeds.  Also cut off parts of the bottom to ensure that they sit up evenly.  Set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion in olive oil until soft.  About 5 minutes.  Stir in 2 of the minced garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute.  
3. If using ground chicken or turkey, season with salt and pepper on both sides.  If using shrimp, cut into smaller pieces.  If using sausage, remove from casings.  Ground beef is good to go.
4. Add meat to onion and garlic.  Cook completely about 10-12 minutes depending on what you are using.
5. While the meat is cooking mix tomato sauce (or marinara), heavy cream, rest of the garlic, and almost all of the basil (reserving some for garnish) in a pot over low heat.
6. When meat is done add brown rice, 1/2 cup parmesan, and 1/2 cup tomato cream sauce.  Mix to coat.  Turn off heat.
7. Generously salt and pepper the inside of your peppers and then stuff each pepper evenly with mixture filling all the way to the top.  Place in a dish that allows them to stand up
8. Spoon a bit of the tomato cream sauce over the top of the peppers and then pour the rest into the bottom of the pan.  Set the tops back on the peppers.  Bake for 20 minutes, cover with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.
9. Serve with the rest of the parmesan cheese and basil.
10. Enjoy!