All the Noms.

Summer Sausage Stuffed Peppers

You can use hot or sweet peppers for this recipe. 

I ended up going with sweet peppers but added extra spice to my filling for a little zing.

These peppers can be kept whole, sliced with a slit in the middle and stuffed, or cut in half and filled like veggie boats.

You can cook the meat ahead of time but I did not. I only ever list ingredients, not measurements, because I'm THAT person who never measures, and THAT person that changes their recipes to what I have on-hand, so they're literally never the same. Everyone has different tastes, as well as, texture differences, so I always leave it up to the chef. 

I softened cream cheese in a large bowl, cooked onions in EVOO and butter and added them ontop of the cream cheese to help it soften. I then added raw pork sausage (it's what was on-hand but any meat will do or go vegetarian and don't add any) an egg to bind (you can use milk if you'd prefer), chopped garlic (if you don't have any on-hand, garlic powder is fine), parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, diced red pepper, salt, freshly ground black pepper and Dan-O's spicy seasoning. I just mixed it by hand but if you feel more comfortable, use a mixer. I do use nitrile gloves when I cook, but that may just be the healthcare worker in me.

Pre-heat the oven to 350, stuff your peppers, cover your pan with tinfoil, and bake for 55 minutes. If you want the peppers to have a bit more crunch, cut the time by 5-10 minutes. I tend to overstuff mine because we eat it as an entrée, but if you're making these as appetizers, you may want to fill it with less.

I did not add any sauce or broth to the pan, because I knew the mixture had enough moisture, but a lot of people do. After 55 minutes, I removed the foil and sprinkled on shredded mozzarella and popped it back into the oven to melt (took about 5 minutes). I didn't run it under the broiler but I will definitely do it next time, because crispy cheese is chef's kiss. 

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Bon Appétit!