Cooking more often these days? Happily, begrudgingly, or a little of both? 😉
Made some amazing crisp, gooey stuffed peppers last night - so good even the kiddos scarfed them down! Cooked enough filling for three dinners (for four - two adults and two preteen girls) and put two containers in the freezer for later. It took a while but it was cathartic. In case you might find any inspiration, here's the gist but it's a very flexible recipe.
Heat in a large pan to make the filling:
1 lb browned Italian chicken sausage & 1 lb browned ground beef (have also used Italian pork sausage & ground turkey - equally delicious)
2 c brown rice (or white rice, cous cous, quinoa, bulgar etc)
tomato (or spaghetti) sauce
Italian herbs to taste
onion
garlic
sliced mushrooms
diced tops of the peppers
The Don red wine
quartered kalamata olives
salt and pepper to taste
Layer the hot filling and fresh mozzarella (or feta, ricotta, whatever cheese you have) into the peppers - 2 layers each - and bake at 350 for 30-35 min if you like the peppers to have a bite to them, or longer if you like them well done. If desired, broil the last few min to brown cheese. Top with hot pepper flakes if you like.