Stuffed Peppers

By Jessica Cameron    September 16, 2010 

• 2 Large Green Bell Peppers (or 4 small)*
• 8 oz Ground Beef (20% fat)
• 2 Italian Sausage Links (approx 8 oz)
• 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 8 oz Tomato Sauce
• 4 large Garlic Cloves Grated
• 1/3 cup of can diced oregano garlic tomatoes (drained)
• 1 whole shallot sliced
• 3 tblsp Dried Oregano
• 3-4 tblsp Black Pepper Freshly Ground
• 1/3 cup Panko Bread crumbs
• 2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 3 tblsp chopped fresh Italian Parsley
• Olive Oil
• Tomato Marinara Sauce 

     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

     Hollow out and rinse two bell peppers making sure all the seeds are removed.  Leave the caps off of the peppers.   Set them in the baking dish while you prepare the filling.  Each pepper should hold approximately 1-1 ½ cup of filling (to approximate the pepper size).  Measure out your beef and pork on a scale and mix in a bowl with your hands so it’s evenly mixed.  To the meat mixture add Worcestershire, tomato sauce, garlic, tomatoes, shallots, oregano, & black pepper.  Mix the entire thing again with your hands, like a meat loaf.  Stuff each pepper as densely as possible with as much filling as the pepper will handle finishing with a mound of stuffing on top of each pepper.   In a small bowl mix the bread crumbs, parmesan, and chopped Italian Parsley together with a bit of freshly ground black pepper until evenly incorporated.  It should smell of primarily cheese and parsley, not bread crumbs.  Drizzle the top of the peppers with olive oil (1-2 teas on each pepper) allowing it to drizzle down the sides of the peppers. Pile the bread crumb mixture onto the top of the peppers, pressing it in a bit to stick.  Drizzle some more olive oil over the bread crumb topping. 

     For the first 12-15 minutes cook uncovered in the oven without tomato sauce until the bread crumbs brown a bit.  Add ¼ cup of water to the bottom of the pan their in to start.   Remove from the oven and spoon over the peppers the marinara sauce carefully trying not to disturb the topping.  Be generous with the marinara sauce ( approx 15-16 oz).   Drizzle again with a bit more olive oil. 

     Cover the peppers with a foil tent and put back in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

     Let the peppers rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

     *The filling will accommodate 2 large peppers or 4 small, just depends what's available. Remember to choose peppers with a somewhat flat bottom so they sit upright in the pan.