Stuffed Peppers With Zucchini Food

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Trim stems from zucchini and slice lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and put in a bowl. Mix seeds with sausage, garlic, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese. Stuff squash with sausage mixture and place in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Pour spaghetti sauce over the top and cover the pan with foil.
• Bake in preheated oven until sausage is browned and cooked through, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and cover with mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven and cook until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes more.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place the rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the beef until evenly browned.
• Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. (Slice the bottoms of the peppers if necessary so that they will stand upright.)
• In a bowl, mix the browned beef, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Italian seasoning in a bowl, and pour over the stuffed peppers.
• Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, basting with sauce every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender.

RISOTTO STUFFED PEPPERS AND ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Combine the chicken stock, 2 cups water, the orange and lemon zests and the saffron in a pot, and bring to a low simmer.
• Halve the zucchini lengthwise and gently scrape out the center flesh and seeds. Chop the center flesh and seeds and reserve. Halve each zucchini again crosswise. Arrange the zucchini and bell peppers cut-side up in a baking dish. Drizzle with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a round-bottomed risotto pot or pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chopped zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 more minutes. Stir in the rice, then add the wine and cook until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the stock mixture a few ladles at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition and allowing the liquid to mostly evaporate before adding more. The rice will take about 18 minutes to cook to al dente. In the last minute or so of cooking, stir in 1/2 cup cheese, the butter and the lemon and orange juices.
• Scoop the risotto into the vegetables.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO and 1/2 cup cheese with the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the tops of the risotto filling. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake until the tops are browned, 10 to 15 more minutes. Garnish with the parsley.
• Cook's Note: If you are not serving the dish immediately, fill the vegetables with the risotto and let cool (do not bake). Cover and store in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, bake as directed.

PEPPERS STUFFED WITH RICE, ZUCCHINI AND HERBS

Steps:

• Prepare the peppers. With a sharp paring knife, cut away the tops, then reach in and pull out the membranes and seeds.
• Toss the shredded zucchini with salt and let drain in a colander for 20 minutes. Take up handfuls of zucchini and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the garlic, mint, parsley or dill, and rice. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1/4 cup of the olive oil and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a baking dish large enough to accommodate all of the peppers. Fill the peppers about 3/4 of the way full with the stuffing, and replace the caps. Place in the oiled baking dish. Mix together the tomato paste and water with the remaining olive oil and the lemon juice. Season to taste. Add to the baking dish. Cover the dish with foil. Place in the oven and bake 45 minutes to an hour, until the peppers are soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, or serve hot. Remove the tops of the peppers and spoon the sauce in the baking dish over the rice before serving.

STUFFED PEPPERS WITH ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• 1. Prepare a square baking (or appropriate-sized) dish by spraying with oil or non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• 2. Cut off top of 6 peppers to fully remove stem and center rib. Scoop out any remaining ribs and seeds. Remove stem, ribs, and seeds from remaining pepper and chop.
• 3. Combine beef, onion and the 1 chopped pepper in a frying pan and saute over medium high heat until beef is no longer pink. If needed, drain excess fat from beef and return mixture to pan.
• 4. Add 3 tablespoons of tomato paste to beef mixture and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in rice, zucchini and can of diced tomatoes, undrained. Add salt to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon.) Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
• 5. Arrange hollowed peppers in baking dish so that they stand upright. It helps if the dish is just big enough to accomodate the peppers so that they help each other stand up. If necessary, trim bottoms of peppers with knife to create a flat surface. Generally fill each pepper with meat and vegetable mixture.
• 6. Mix remaining tomato paste with about 1/3 cup of water and stir to consistency of tomato soup. Pour over stuffed peppers. If needed, add more water to bottom of pan so that peppers are sitting in about a quarter inch of water. Top each pepper with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese.
• 7. Very loosely tent pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix first 9 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Fill pepper halves with sausage mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange in 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
• Bake peppers uncovered until tops are browned and thermometer inserted into filling registers 165°F, about 1 hour. Transfer peppers to platter. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve.

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.

STUFFED PEPPERS WITH CHORIZO & SPINACH

Steps:

• 1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. 2. Cook whole grain in a pot using package instructions. Set aside when cooked. 3. Add olive oil to a large fry pan over medium heat. Using a knife, cut down one side of the sausage to open the casing. Add sausage to oil and using a spoon or spatula to break apart the meat so that it cooks evenly. When cooked set sausage meat aside in a small bowl or add directly to the cooked grains. 4. Once the sausage is removed from pan, add extra oil as needed to prevent sticking. Over medium-low heat, add minced garlic and grated zucchini. Stir to combine ingredients until slightly softened and fragrant. Add oregano and basil to the veggies and stir. Add salt and pepper as desired. 5. Once the vegetables are cooked, add them to the bowl with rice and sausage. Stir to combine all ingredients that will be the filling for your peppers. 6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and discard the ribs and seeds. Place peppers facing upward and stuff with rice and meat mixture. 7. Cook for 20-25 minutes until peppers are slightly softened. 8. Remove from oven and add cheese to the top of each stuffed pepper. Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and peppers easily pierced with a knife.

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.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI AND RED BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Lightly drizzle the olive oil into a 9 by 12 inch baking dish.
• Whisk the onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the turkey. Cover and refrigerate the turkey mixture.
• Using a melon baller or spoon, carefully scrape out the seeds and inner flesh from the zucchini, leaving the 1/8 inch thick shells. Be careful not to pierce through the skin. Fill the zucchini and pepper halves with the turkey mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange the stuffed vegetables in the baking dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the stuffed vegetables.
• Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown and a thermometer inserted into the filling registers 165 degrees F, (about 45 minutes).
• Transfer the stuffed vegetables to a platter and serve.