STUFFED PEPPERS

One of my husband’s favorites is Stuffed Peppers.  He loves cabbage rolls but gets a reaction to the cabbage and sauerkraut.  So I thought I’d share this very special recipe with you as well.  With the abundance of green peppers in the summer, it makes it easy and inexpensive to make.

Ingredients:
4 large green bell peppers

Long grain white or brown rice, pre-made and set aside

1 ½ # lean ground round

1# hot breakfast sausage

1 egg

6 baby carrots chopped

1 large onion chopped

4 celery ribs with leaves, chopped

½ stick butter

2 – 15 oz. cans tomato sauce

1 – 15 ounce diced tomatoes

Garlic salt and black pepper

Make the rice of choice and set aside.  I make white or brown long grain rice.  Two cups of water with 1 cup rice.  Prepare as directed and set aside.

Saute` onions, carrots, and celery in butter until they  are softened and translucent.  In a large bowl, place the ground beef and hot breakfast sausage along with 1 egg.   Add about 1 heaping tsp. of garlic salt and 1 tsp. black pepper.  Mix well.  Then add the sautéed vegetables and rice and make sure everything is combined evenly.

Cut the peppers in half (across the stem).  Remove stem and with a spoon scrape out all the seeds and membrane.  In a large pot, put enough water to bring to a boil and you want to parboil the peppers until they are blanched.  Drain water and add cold water to cool down.  Drain again.

Now you need to spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of your small roaster or 9 x 13 baking dish.  Fill each pepper half with a generous amount of filling.  Place side by side in pan and if need be make two layers.  Pour all the remaining tomato sauce on top evenly as well as the can of diced tomatoes.  Sprinkle enough  garlic salt and black pepper to season. 

(Ready to put in oven)

Place in a 350 degree oven without the lid for 1 and ½ hours.   Place the lid on top and continue to bake for an additional hour.  At this time turn the oven down to 325 degrees.  Re-cover the pan and bake for an additional hour and a half.   Turn oven down to warm until you are ready to serve.

The longer and slower you bake it the better the flavors will blend.  The hot breakfast sausage adds a little zip to the flavor.   If you prefer, you can use just plain sausage.

 Serve with a salad and enjoy!!

FRIED ZUCCHINI BAKE ITALIANO

This recipe can be made for as much or as little as you need,  but for the recipe sake, I will give it to you in these proportions. (Double it as needed)

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini (washed and slice 1/8 inch thick, with skin on)

Vegetable oil

1 egg

Milk

1/2 c. flour

Box of Panko Crumbs

Garlic salt

Pepper

28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce, your choice

(I prefer Hunts Garli & Herb Spaghetti sauce - 24 oz.) 

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese

In a small bowl,  mix egg with milk and beat and set aside.

 In a medium bowl, put flour, panko crumbs, a shake of garlic salt and 1 tsp. black pepper and mix well.

In a large frying pan, put enough oil so it's about 1/2 inch deep. Allow the oil to heat just enough to fry  (take a couple drops of water and put into oil, when it pops and dances, it's time to fry). 

Take zucchini slices and with fork dip on both sides with egg wash  then dip both sides with the  flour-cracker mixture so it is completely coated.   I then dip again in egg wash and press more crumbs (the more the better.)  

Place carefully into the hot oil and put enough zucchini in to cover the bottom. Turn the zucchini over and allow to brown nice and evenly on both sides. 

Do NOT burn and watch it very carefully. You may need to turn down the heat if it's too hot.

 Place zucchini on paper towels to drain and continue the process until all the zucchini is cooked.

Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with your spaghetti sauce.    Put  the zucchini edge to edge (or even overlap) to completely cover the bottom. If there's more zucchini than  needed to cover the bottom, double up in some areas. Cover the cooked zucchini with the rest of  the  sauce.  

Sprinkle with parmesan and  4 oz. of the  shredded mozzarella on top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until all the cheese is melted and bubbling all around the edges. It should take no more than 15 to 20 minutes to serve.  This is a delicious addition to any meal or even a wonderful meatless main dish with salad.