Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers Food

ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFED MINI PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Slice each mini sweet pepper in half lengthwise, then slice/scoop out the pith and seeds and discard. Place each pepper half on a sheet pan with the cut-side up.
• Once all of the peppers are on the pan, lightly drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 7 minutes to slightly soften them up, then set aside. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C) once the peppers are done.
• Add Italian sausage to a pan set over medium heat, breaking it into small crumbles as it cooks. Once fully cooked (no longer pink), transfer sausage crumbles to a paper-towel lined plate to cool.
• Clean out pan to use again. Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and set it over medium/low heat. Once heated add diced onion and cook for 5-6 minutes, then add garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and tender. Remove the pan from the heat.
• In a medium mixing bowl, add cooked and crumbled sausage, sauteed onion and garlic mixture, cream cheese, 1 ounce (about ⅓ cup) of the shredded cheese, parsley, basil, and crushed red pepper. Stir well to break up the cream cheese until all ingredients in the filling mixture are evenly combined.
• If you find excess liquid has pooled in the peppers as they've cooled, you may wish to blot it before stuffing them so the filling doesn't slide around. Stuff each pepper half with the filling, pressing it into the peppers well. Top evenly with the remaining shredded cheese.
• Bake (now at 350°F) for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the stuffed mini peppers are heated well throughout. Serve warm.

SAUSAGE STUFFED MINI PEPPERS

Steps:

• Brown sausage in skillet. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
• While the sausage is cooking, prepare stuffing mix according to the package directions.
• Place halved peppers on a baking sheet and preheat the broiler to high.
• Stir together stuffing mix and sausage. Scoop 1 Tablespoon of this mixture into each pepper half. Press down gently with your finger to fill pepper. Sprinkle each filled pepper half with 2 teaspoons of cheese.
• Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.

STUFFED MINI PEPPERS W/ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven 375 degrees Place sausage in medium size bowl.. add breadcrumbs, grated cheese, garlic powder and black pepper ... mash and blend ingredients with fork until all blended.
• Stuff each pepper with sausage mixture. Before placing peppers in baking dish, dip each pepper (2/3rds up pepper) in olive oil (custard dish is good to use for olive oil dipping) .. place peppers in lightly oiled baking pan.(uncovered)
• Bake for 25-30 minutes .. remove from oven, with baster remove excess grease ... cover each pepper top with marinara sauce and Italian shredded cheese ... return to oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot or warm... Enjoy! For easy serving have toothpicks handy.
• Note: *You can omit the marinara sauce and just top with shredded Italian cheese (or cheese of your choice) and baked for an additional 7 minutes.

CHEESY SAUSAGE-STUFFED MINI PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a small frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds. Add Jimmy Dean sausage and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until browned, stirring frequently to break up the sausage into small pieces, then drain. Remove the sausage and set aside.
• To the same pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and reduce heat to medium. Add diced mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms are softened and brown.
• In a bowl, mix the sausage and mushrooms with the rice and parsley, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella. Season to taste, and fill each bell pepper halfway with the mixture.
• Top each pepper with additional cheese, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Carefully remove the peppers from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.