Italian Style Stuffed Peppers Or Zucchini Food

ITALIAN STYLE STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• WASH bell peppers; REMOVE 1- 1 1/2 inch off pepper tops levelly using a knife (reserve tops); REMOVE seeds and ribs from peppers with a tea spoon; PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
• PREPARE your favorite recipe for quick-cooking rice, to yield 2 cups rice; BROWN 1 pound bulk Italian sausage in a skillet and drain fat.
• INTO a large pot (with an accompanying vegetable steamer basket set aside) combine 2 cups water, 3 tablespoons white vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning; INSERT steamer basket into pot; PLACE peppers cut-side down, along with pepper tops, into steamer insert in pot; COVER; BRING to boiling; BOIL for one minute; REDUCE heat to medium high. STEAM until tender yet firm (about 10 minutes).
• CAREFULLY remove peppers and tops from steamer basket using tongs and place onto onto paper towels to drain.
• DICE pepper tops around the stems (discard stems); STIR in the diced peppers and cooked sausage to cooked rice, along with 2 tablespoons of the parmesan cheese, and 3 tablespoons sliced black olives.
• POUR desired amount of marinara sauce into the rice/meat mixture to moisten; SEASON rice/meat mixture to taste with a little Italian seasoning and/or salt and pepper, if desired; BLEND.
• POUR enough marinara sauce into an 8 x 8 x 2 square baking dish, just to cover bottom; ARRANGE the steamed peppers upright in baking dish.
• STUFF peppers upright, mounding slightly, with the rice/meat mixture; POUR remaining marinara sauce over stuffed peppers.
• DIVIDE and distribute shredded mozzarella cheese over prepared peppers; SPRINKLE peppers with remaining parmesan cheese; TOP center of peppers with a whole black olive (or olive slice).
• BAKE peppers upright in a baking dish until heated through, about 10 minutes; SERVE and enjoy!

ITALIAN-STYLE STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a roasting pan (large enough to accommodate 8 pepper halves in a single layer) with cooking spray.
• Combine the ground sirloin, Italian sausage, brown rice, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, garlic, Parmesan cheese, egg, and 1/2 cup Classico® Tomato & Basil sauce in a large bowl. Mix until combined.
• Divide meat mixture evenly among the green pepper halves; press to compress slightly. Arrange halves in prepared pan. Spoon the remaining Classico® Tomato & Basil sauce onto the tops of the meat and peppers. Cover tightly with foil.
• Bake until the peppers are soft and internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove from oven. Remove foil and top each pepper with shredded cheese.
• Turn oven to broil. Place peppers, uncovered under the broiler. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

ITALIAN STUFFED VEGETABLES (ZUCCHINI, BELL PEPPERS, OR EGGPLANTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Lightly drizzle ~2 tbsp olive oil into a baking dish.
• In a large bowl, whisk together onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, salt, garlic, and black pepper.
• Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs.
• Mix in turkey until all is well combined.
• Cover and refrigerate.
• Now take your zucchini and eggplant and carefully scrape out the seeds and some of the inner flesh, creating a pocket for the stuffing while still leaving a pretty thick shell.
• Halve and seed the bell peppers then fill all the vegetables with the turkey mixture, mounding slightly.
• Arrange stuffed vegetables in the baking dish, pour marinara sauce over everything and sprinkle with some more of the grated Romano (I like to use freshly grated Parmesan).
• Bake uncovered about 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

ITALIAN-STYLE STUFFED PEPPERS OR ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Brown ground meat with onion and garlic. Add rice, water, and sauce. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is done.
• Meanwhile, shred cheese. Wash and split peppers or zucchini. Split the peppers into thirds or quarters, depending on size. Or split zucchini in half. Remove seeds from peppers or scoop out the seeded center of zucchini, leaving about 1/2 inch all around. Arrange peppers or zucchini in a 9"x13" or 10"x15" pan, hollow side up.
• When the meat-rice mixture is cooked, turn off heat. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese and stir until melted. Stuff the peppers or zucchini. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce. Bake uncovered at 350F for 30 minutes for peppers, or 45 minutes for zucchini, until heated through and sauce is bubbly.

ZUCCHINI & GROUND BEEF-STUFFED PEPPERS ITALIANO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Brown meat with onions in large skillet on medium heat; drain. Stir in 1/2 cup tomato sauce, zucchini, rice, oregano and basil.
• Cut tops off peppers; remove and discard seeds. Pour remaining tomato sauce and water into 13x9-inch baking dish; stir. Place peppers in baking dish; fill with meat mixture. Cover.
• Bake 35 to 40 min. or until peppers are tender. Top with cheese; bake, uncovered, 5 to 7 min. or until melted. Serve peppers topped with sauce from bottom of baking dish.

ITALIAN STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Bring 1 1/2 cups of the water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice; cover and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, brown ground sirloin and Italian seasoning.
• Once meat is browned, add in chopped zucchini, 1 cup of spaghetti sauce, 1 cup of cheese, and the cooked rice. Stir well.
• Clean and cut peppers in half, removing seeds. Place into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
• Spoon the meat mixture into peppers.
• Top with the remaining 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce and 1/2 cup cheese.
• Add 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the dish, cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI ITALIAN STYLE

Steps:

• In large skillet, brown sausage.
• Drain well.
• In same skillet, saute onion & garlic 5 minutes in oil.
• Cut zucchini in half - remove seeds from center, reserving meaty party and cutting into cube approximate 1/2" in size, leaving boat shell for stuffing.
• In large bowl mix together sausage, bread crumbs, seasonings, egg, onion, garlic and tomatoes and cubed zucchini.
• Mix to just combine.
• Stuff into zucchini boats and place in 9x13 baking dish.
• Pour entire can of tomato sauce over stuffed boats.
• Bake un-covered in 375º oven approximately 45 minutes.
• Place cheese (tear to fit boats or use shredded) & place on top of tomato sauce.
• Return to oven for approximately 10 minutes - cheese should bubble.
• Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

ITALIAN STUFFED CUBANELLE PEPPERS

Steps:

• Cook and stir sausage in a skillet over medium heat until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain excess grease and transfer to a bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet; cook and stir onion and garlic until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in sausage, bread crumbs, Monterey Jack cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, rice, Romano cheese, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl.
• Wipe out skillet and heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Cook and stir Cubanelle peppers until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stuff Cubanelle peppers with rice mixture, using a teaspoon to push it into the tip. Arrange stuffed peppers in a 10x13-inch baking dish; cover dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until peppers are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 minutes more.