So I just pinned a recipe for "Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats" from "Skinytaste" (amazing website that one of my friends told me about a while back.... great low-cal recipes) that I want to try in the future. I just made something Mexican-themed recently so I wanted to make something more Italian. I came up with the idea for these Italian Stuffed Peppers and used the cooking method used in a Gluten-free Goddess recipe for the peppers and they came out perfect. Each bite was something different: the spice from the red pepper flakes, the sweetness of the raisins, and the briney caper taste all add something special to this stuffed peppers. I hope you enjoy!
Italian Stuffed Peppers
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 2 cups baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, chopped
- 6 bell peppers (I used all red, but you can mix and match), with the tops cut off and hollowed out
- 1 pound ground chicken (you could easily swap ground turkey, ground beef, or crumbled sausage)
- 24 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups brown rice (okay I cheated a bit and used Uncle Ben's ready rice... but so easy and one less pot to clean)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Basil, a few leaves chopped
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 2 tbsp capers
- One cup shredded mozzarella, plus a little more for the tops (I use part skim)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Oil
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| You want to cut the zucchini into small pieces so that it mixes well into the stuffing. |
Take two large frying pans/saute pans and put over medium heat. In one, you can start cooking the ground chicken. It takes about 8-10 minutes. In the other you can start cooking the veggies. Start with a little oil in the pan and cook the garlic for about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn. Then add the onions and cook 2-3 minutes until translucent. Next add the mushrooms and zucchini and saute for a few minutes until slightly soft. Add the oregano and red pepper flakes then salt and pepper to taste. You should be tasting your food along the way!
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| The veggie mixture... ready for the rest of the stuffing ingredients! |
Next I clear a little area in the middle of the pan and add the tomato paste. Mix it in with the vegetable mixture. Tomato paste adds a deep tomatoe-y flavor that adds a little something extra. If you buy a tube of it at the supermarket, it is easy to have on hand whenever you need. Then add the cooked ground chicken, tomatoes, raisins, and capers to the mixture. Let it simmer for a few minutes while you prep the peppers for filling. Right before you are ready to stuff you can add the mozzarella, rice, and basil and mix the whole mixture together until everything is well incorporated.
Place the stuffing in the peppers until it is over the edge of the pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and place in an oven-proof baking dish. Pour an inch of boiling water in the baking dish around the peppers about an inch up the dish. Place foil loosely over the dish as a foil tent. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until peppers are fork tender. (I baked for 30 minutes and took the foil off for the last 5 minutes to help make the cheese a little brown.) Enjoy!
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| Just add cheese and they're ready for the oven! |
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| So good! |
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