I won’t bore you with a bunch of backstory on how I found this recipe, or how it changed my life, blah..blah..blah. I hate it when I find a recipe on a blog, and I have to scroll through a bunch of blabbing before I get to the good part. So without further ado, here is my version of stuffed peppers. Hope ya love it!

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You will need:

• 5-6 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers (I like a mix)
• 1 lb ground Italian sausage (you can get spicy or mild. Both are yummo!)
• 1 1/2 cups Italian cheese blend
• 2 cups cooked long grain rice (sometimes I sub my rice for cauli rice)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped crimini mushrooms
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste

If you find yourself out of Italian seasoning like I did, you can throw your own together. Here’s what ya need:

• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp basil
• 2 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp cilantro
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the tops off your peppers and scoop out the insides. Place in a glass casserole dish.

For the filling, brown the Italian sausage in a large skillet. Then, add the crimini mushrooms, cooked rice, 1/2 cup cheese blend, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt & pepper. Stir to combine and warm through.

Fill the peppers with the mixture. I like to press down to make sure that they’re stuffed full.

Put peppers in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until they are tender. Pull them out and sprinkle the rest of the cheese blend on top (I like to put a little more than it calls for because…well…cheese. It’s my lifeblood)

Place back in the oven on broil for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and peppers are starting to char.

You can sprinkle some fresh parsley on top if you want, and you’ll want to serve them when they’re nice and hot.

This has become one of my favorites, mainly because it’s stupid easy, but it’s also something I can throw together quickly if I need to take dinner to someone, or if we just need something warm for a cold winter night. If you try it, let me know if you like it!

Cheers!

Audra JaNae