Stuffed Peppers, Baby!

I’m drawn to red sauces. Well, red food in general.

But I guess most red food is in sauce form. Right?

I mean, other than red peppers and tomatoes, what else is red? OH, fruit. Apples, raspberries and strawberries. Those are red. And I can dig all of that, too.

But if I want to get serious, it’s my devotion for red sauces that carries me through each day.

Tomato sauces to be specific.

So, I guess I should just start over and say, I’m DRAWN TO TOMATO SAUCES.

Good grief, how can you guys even stand me?

When I was perusing my pantry a couple of days ago while jotting down a quick grocery list, I noticed the other carton of Pomi tomatoes that was sent to me a little while back to try out. BONUS. Instead of the diced tomatoes that I used a few weeks ago, these were the “strained tomatoes” – aka: tomato sauce. Aka: my lover. Aka: what dreams are made of. Aka: salvation was found.

(Raw meat is red too.)

SO, once I kissed the box 27 times and acted out a scene from A Chorus Line, I decided the best way to utilize this gawgeous sauce was …in…..STUFFED PEPPERS.

(Velvet cake is actually pretty red, too.)

Do you like stuffed peppers? Because I could pretty much unhinge my jaw and pour them down my throat via funnel.

Try my version. Really. We got sausage, we got rice, we got heat, we got spice.

I should be writing jingles, you guys.

*p.s. I was not compensated for this post, other than the free tomato samples. All opinions expressed are my own, dudes.*

Stuffed Peppers, Baby!:  

p.p.s. notice the two peppers in the back WITHOUT cheese. those are for my husband. welcome to my life.

What it took for 4 peppers:

* 4 bell peppers of any color, tops lopped off and diced up to be used for the filling, innards removed from the bells and discarded or composted
* 3 Italian sausage links, casings removed
* 1 cup wild rice
* 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
* 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
* 1 Tbs. smoked paprika
* 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 (26.46 oz) carton Pomi strained tomatoes
* 1/4 cup yellow raisins
* fresh parmesan for broiling
* pinch of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the rice in boiling water for about 20 minutes.

Parboil the peppers in boiling water for about 15 minutes, while the rice cooks.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onion and saute 4 minutes. Add the garlic and bloom 30 seconds. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook about 5 minutes until fully cooked. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, crushed red pepper, diced bell pepper tops, raisins, wild rice and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Saute another minute.

Add 1/2 cup of the strained tomatoes and stir to combine.

Stuff each pepper with the sausage mixture and place in a small baking dish. Pour the remaining strained tomatoes around the peppers in the baking dish. Bake 30 minutes.

Switch oven to broiler, sprinkle peppers with cheese, stick it back in for a minute, until the cheese melts and is freaking amazing looking.

Serve peppers with a good drizzle of the bubbly tomato sauce. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER IN THIS LIFE, YOU GUYS.

 

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22 Responses to Stuffed Peppers, Baby!

  1. The Elegant Eggplant October 5, 2011 at 2:44 pm #
    I love the addition of the golden raisins here.. I love the flavor they add to savory dishes!!! I have been looking for a great stuffed pepper recipe for a while now and I think this is what I have been looking for!!! Beautiful pictures too. Great post Bev!
  2. Rachel @ Not Rachael Ray October 5, 2011 at 2:47 pm #
    What is it with our husbands and their dislike of cheese? How did we come to marry these crazy people? PS: I think the sausage photo turned out lovely. ;) PPS: Are your raisins in a cast-iron measuring cup? Cool!
    • Bev Weidner October 5, 2011 at 3:05 pm #
      1) They're INSANE. 2) Ha! You must have seen my twitter rant. :) (and thank you!) 3) It's this mini-cast iron skillet. Like, SUPER mini. I tried frying an egg in it. Didn't work out so well for me. So, food prop it is!
  3. Cassie [Bake Your Day] October 5, 2011 at 3:06 pm #
    I'm still dumbfounded that your hubs doesn't like cheese. I will eat his share. I need these now.
  4. Jessica October 5, 2011 at 3:16 pm #
    When I see you Friday you will have a big batch of these for me? Right? Yes?! Please?!?!
  5. Julia October 5, 2011 at 4:11 pm #
    Marry me instead, I LOVE cheese. I am so making this. I have a different problem though; my boyfriend doesn't like peppers. Stuffed peppers without cheese is one thing, stuffed peppers without peppers is pretty much impossible. He'll just have to have a sandwich.
  6. Katie October 5, 2011 at 4:19 pm #
    Don't hate me...I don't like tomato sauce. However, these look incredible and I might eat them anyway. Actually I'm pretty sure I'd eat them.
  7. carly {carlyklock} October 5, 2011 at 5:45 pm #
    That's it. Our diet is to consist only of cheese this weekend. And wine. Well, and wine.
  8. Courtney October 5, 2011 at 6:37 pm #
    Yummy! I love the golden raisan addition!
  9. Amber Shea @Almost Vegan October 5, 2011 at 9:57 pm #
    Gorgeous! I wish my in-the-pan shots were that pretty. :)
  10. Deborah October 6, 2011 at 1:07 am #
    Those look A-MAZ-ING!!
  11. Sydney October 6, 2011 at 2:13 pm #
    I believe that this has spoken directly to my stomach-heart... I need to get some sausage ASAP!
  12. Stephanie October 6, 2011 at 5:19 pm #
    Is the rice just partially cooked after 20 minutes? I thought wild rice cooked longer usually. Does it finish and get tender while baked? Also, it does not say where to add the rice to the meat mixture, but I would assume it is when you add the spices and raisins.
    • Bev Weidner October 6, 2011 at 5:22 pm #
      Whoops! I must have forgotten to include that in the instructions. Thank you for pointing it out! I'll make the change. But yes, you add the rice at the very end, mix together and throw it in the oven! And to answer you, my rice was preeeeetty much cooked when I stuffed the peppers. And they finished up in the oven. If you find that your rice needs more time, no bigs. Just get it pretty al dente and you should be good to go. Thanks for the comment!
      • Stephanie October 6, 2011 at 5:47 pm #
        Thanks! These look gorgeous. I have been trying to find a stuffed peppers recipe my husband would like and I think these fit the bill. How can you go wrong with sausage, wild rice, and tomatoes?
        • Bev Weidner October 6, 2011 at 5:48 pm #
          You can't...you just can't.... And I love the cinnamony nutmegy spicy thing going on. Prepare to moan. Hope he digs them!
  13. Lauren @ hey, who cut the cheese? October 7, 2011 at 1:38 am #
    This looks and sounds amazing!! I have a track record for making some stuffed peppers in the past that are just so-so at best. This recipe will change that, for sure. Thanks for this!
  14. ziggy2222 October 13, 2011 at 1:45 am #
    Here's a great video for stuffed peppers... ENJOY!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M8JbJ9a-6w
  15. Anna October 23, 2011 at 7:28 pm #
    Bev, Just made this today. Only made a couple changes--no raisins (can't eat them) and used Uncle Ben's Wild Rice mix. Hubby is still making good munching noises and wants this again, soon! I also love it, so thanks for a great recipe!
    • Bev Weidner October 23, 2011 at 7:29 pm #
      Anna, so glad you guys enjoyed the peppers! Thanks for letting me know!
  16. Barbara November 20, 2011 at 1:13 am #
    I with you on the red vegetables, fruits and clothes too! Back a few years I had left over rice and some beautiful red peppers waiting for a warm comfort food dinner. Gathering all the props together, I discovered the rice was missing and time was not on my side so I made the sauce a bit tighter and put in the mixture to stuff the peppers. The thinned it back a bit to pour around the peppers. Pulled out the spaghetti and cooked it when I turned the oven off. My family went crazy with the peppers and pasta on the side. Never looked back an dnow it is a family style of choice for stuffed peppers be they red, green or yellow.
  17. Jennifer January 13, 2016 at 8:26 am #
    I made this last night for dinner. The filling was really good. One of my boys (2.5yrs) could not stop eating it. Needless to say, I was very happy! Also, I added goat cheese on top to a couple of them and that was delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

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