Heather's Stuffed Peppers

Photo: Heather

Ingredients

1 pound Hot Italian Sausage (or Hamburger Meat)

3 cloves Garlic, Diced

1 whole Small Yellow Onion, Diced

2 wholes Jalapenos, Diced (add More If You Like It Spicy)

2 cans 14.5 Ounce Cans Petite Diced Tomatoes

1/2 cup Romano Parmesan Cheese (and More For The Tops Of Peppers)

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro To Taste

1/4 cup Fresh Italian Parsley To Taste

1 teaspoon Salt (this Is To Taste Add More If Needed)

1 tablespoon Pepper (this Is To Taste Add More If Needed)

2 cups Beef Broth

2 cups Hot Water

1 1/2 cups Orzo Pasta

6 wholes Bell Peppers

12 slices Sliced Fresh Mozzarella (about Two Slices Per Pepper)

1/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs For Garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a pan on medium heat cook your hot Italian sausage (or hamburger meat) until it is just cooked. While the meat is cooking add the minced garlic, finely chopped onion and diced jalapeños and cook them with the meat.

In a separate bowl combine your canned tomatoes, ½ cup of Parmesan cheese, olive oil, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped fresh parsley and salt and pepper.

In another pan bowl the 2 cups of beef broth and 2 cups of hot water. Once the water is boiling add your 1.5 cups of orzo. Cook for 5 minutes ONLY no longer! Then remove from heat and set aside.

Once the meat, onions, garlic and jalapeños are cooked add them to the bowl of tomatoes. Once the orzo is cooked, strain it with a hand strainer and add to the bowl of tomatoes while still keeping the broth in the pan.

Cut off the tops of your bell peppers. Remove the seeds and ribs. Make sure the bottoms are flat and trim off a little of the bottom if necessary so they stand up and do not roll around in your pan. Place the cleaned peppers in a Pyrex pan. Pour the broth from the cooked orzo around the bottoms of the peppers. Add water if needed so there is approximately 1” of liquid around the peppers.

Stir all the ingredients in the bowl so they are well combined. Fill the bell peppers with this mixture to the very top.Once all the peppers are filled cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes remove pan from oven. Take the foil off. Grate fresh Parmesan on top of each pepper. Add a few slices of fresh mozzarella on top of the Parmesan that is on top of the peppers and sprinkle each one with the Italian breadcrumbs. After you have garnished the top place the pan back in the oven uncovered for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and browned.