~Amanda~
It’s officially fall and the weather is cooling down. Well slightly, we are still in the 80s and I’m loving it, but it’s cool enough that I can cook more in the oven now and not rely so much on the grill like I did on those 100 degree summer days! So in honor of fall, I decided to make these amazing stuffed pepper because they are warm and comforting, but also very healthy… now that we’ve got a wedding to prepare for (in like a year haha) we’ve got lots of healthy eating motivation. There are probably a million different stuffed pepper recipes out there; you can made them Mexican, Italian, American, or pretty much with any flavor profile you love, they are so versatile! My favorite stuffed peppers have always been those with Italian seasonings and flavors and this is the recipe that I have played around with over the years that I think is just perfect!
To start you want to first cook your rice. I prefer to use brown rice in these because it’s just better for you and I love the flavor of it. The night I made these though, I didn’t realize we were out of brown rice and I ended up making them with white and they were just as good (just not as healthy), so you can use either! The next step is to cook up the filling starting with onions and spinach, but this is where you can play around and add any veggies you like – try substituting mushrooms, small diced zucchini, or eggplant if you’re not a big spinach fan. Then some garlic of course, because everything tastes better with garlic. Then comes the ground chicken. I choose to use ground chicken rather than diced or shredded chicken because i think it just works better. The ground chicken ends up being the same size of the rice and it all combines perfectly and is so easy to fill the peppers up.
Next we need something that will get everything to stick together and get those delicious Italian flavors in there; chicken stock, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, thyme, and smoked paprika. YUM! Mix everything together and let it reduce until you have a nice thick mixture. Spoon it into the peppers and place them in a baking dish with some water and cover with foil – this helps to steam and soften the peppers. Once they are almost finished baking, take off the foil and top them with grated mozzarella cheese (always gotta have something a little indulgent) and broil them until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Are you drooling yet?! Not only were these amazing fresh out of the oven – I got lots of praise from Conor – but they are so great as leftovers so I always make a bunch so we have delicious lunches the next day at work. Happy fall and enjoy!
- 4 bell peppers (any color), tops sliced off
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ onion, small dice
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place the peppers in an 8x8” baking dish. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil a large skillet over medium heat then add in the onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the garlic and spinach and stir until spinach has wilted.
- Push the onion and spinach mixture to one side of the pan and add the ground chicken and all your spices to the other. Cook for about 5 minutes until chicken is done.
- Add the chicken stock and tomato sauce and stir to combine. Turn down the heat to low and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until the mixture is thickened.
- Fill the peppers with the chicken mixture almost all the way to the top.
- Pour the water into the baking dish around the peppers (make sure not to get it in the peppers with the filling).
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes until the peppers have softened.
- Remove from oven and top each pepper with mozzarella cheese, then place back in the oven to broil and melt the cheese for about 5 minutes (watch closely, you don’t want to burn the cheese).
- Let cool for a few minutes then enjoy!
