Anthony’s Stuffed Peppers Recipe

One of my favorite dishes, especially during the winter months, are peppers that have been stuffed with a combination of meat, vegetables and rice and have been nicely seasoned and then have been topped with tomato sauce and some nice freshly grated parmesan cheese.  To me, this is the ultimate comfort food and well worth the effort to make.  Below is my recipe for making my delicious stuffed peppers that are made with green bell peppers, ground chuck, hot Italian pork sausage, rice, parmesan cheese, onion, celery, garlic, tomatoes, egg, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, cayenne, oregano and other seasonings and herbs.

Ingredients:

6 green bell peppers
1 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup of diced celery
1 clove garlic, crushed & minced
1 (14.5 oz.) cab of diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of dried leaf oregano
1/2 teaspoon of dried leaf basil
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 pound of ground chuck
1/2 pound of ground hot Italian pork sausage
1 1/2 cups of cooked long-grain rice
1 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Cut the tops of the bell peppers off and then remove seeds and membranes.   You should then dice up the edible parts of tops and set them aside.  Next, rinse the bell peppers under cold water and then place them in a large pot and then cover with salted water.  Bring the water to a boil,  the reduce heat, cover, and then simmer for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes remove the bell peppers and then set them aside for use later.

You now what to put the olive oil and butter in a large skillet and heat over medium heat until the skillet is hot.  Once the skillet is hot add in the chopped green bell pepper, the onions and celery and then sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  You will want to add in the crushed garlic in about the last 1 minute of cooking.  Then add in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper and cayenne pepper.   Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and then simmer for about 10 minutes.

You should now take a large mixing bowl and place the lightly beaten egg and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 of teaspoon black pepper, and Worcestershire sauce and then gently mix them together.  Then add in the ground beef, ground hot Italian pork sausage, cooked rice, 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese and 1 cup of the tomato mixture to the mixing bowl and combine them completely.   Now, stuff each of the bell peppers with the meat mixture and place them in a 3 quart baking dish.  Next, pour the remaining tomato mixture over the stuffed peppers, place them in the preheated oven and then bake them at 350° for about 45 minutes.  At this point you will want to open your oven and then top the stuffed peppers with the remaining parmesan cheese and then continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Your stuffed peppers are done when they are tender, the cheese has melted and they are lightly browned on the top