Mar 24, 2019

'Lasagna' Stuffed Peppers

If you haven't guessed yet, my background is Italian and I do love my classic Italian dishes including pasta, lasagna, and risotto.... pretty much all the carbs! Part of what I do now is help people still enjoy some of their cultural favourites, with slight modifications to make loved childhood favourites just that much healthier.

Today on the blog, we have a spin on the classic lasagna. Cheesy delicious goodness, minus the pasta (making this version completely gluten free). Plus there is the added benefit of some extra veggies. Bell peppers are an excellent source of many antioxidants and are extremely rich in vitamin C (bonus)!

Give this recipe a try and let me know how it turns out for you!

Ingredients:

4 large bell peppers (can be any colours)
1 white onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tsp. dried oregano
½ cup fresh parsley, minced
1 cup tomato puree (the puree is key)
450g ground chicken or turkey
½ cup ricotta or cottage cheese
½ cup mozzarella, shredded
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 cup brown rice, cooked (this is optional, adds some more substance).

Directions:

Boil water in pot and cook brown rice according to package directions, set aside.

Heat pan and add olive oil. Begin to sauté onions and garlic until translucent, add meat and cook thoroughly (about 7-8 minutes), add S&P and tomato purée. Cook for 10 minutes, add oregano and cooked brown rice and set aside. In separate bowl add ricotta, Parmesan, shredded mozzarella, and minced parsley. Cut top off peppers and remove seeds and inside (prepping them for stuffing).

Fill peppers ¾ way with the meat and rice mixture and add cheese mixture on top. You may need an extra pepper! Place in baking dish and cover with foil. Make sure the foil is not touching cheese and cook at 400F for 40 minutes.

Option to remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or set oven to broil and broil for 2-3 minutes to crust up your cheese layer.

Enjoy!

Ps. I liked cutting mine in half when eating it.