Halloween is one of my favorite times to eat stuffed peppers. They are also healthy since they consist of bell peppers filled with yummylicious vegetables and cottage cheese as well as rice, which makes them a perfect festive dish.
Everyone in my family loves stuffed peppers, so I usually use different colored bell peppers to make them more colorful because it looks and tastes fantastic.
In this recipe, I have used my homemade roasted red bell pepper sauce to give the rice a unique Italian flavor. You can also use a store-bought one as well.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 large orange bell peppers
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 cup cooked rice white or brown
- 1 Tablespoon Ghee or other healthy cooking oil, plus additional for a coating sheet pan.
- 1 cup Cottage Cheese
- 1 medium yellow onion diced small
- 1 Cup sweet corn kernels
- 5 Onion Shallots
- 2 cups roasted red pepper sauce homemade or store-bought
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
Instruction
For the Bell Pepper :
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Slice each bell pepper’s top horizontally with a sharp knife. Set tops aside (don’t throw them away). Remove seeds and membranes. Pat the peppers dry with paper toweling or a clean, soft cloth. Make jack-o-lantern faces by cutting holes in the peppers with a paring knife.
- Follow the package directions for cooking rice. Use olive oil or non-stick spray to lightly grease a small sheet pan while the rice cooks. Arrange peppers and tops of peppers on the pan and cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until peppers are cooked, but still are still firm (al dente). Remove peppers from the oven and allow to cool while you make the filling.
For the Filling :
- Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sweet corn kernels and sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until sweet corn kernels have softened and reduced in size. Increase heat to medium-high. Add diced cottage cheese, chopped shallots, and spices to the pan and continue to cook, stirring occasionally.
- Drain excess grease from pan, reduce heat to medium-low, then add red pepper pasta sauce and cooked rice. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until the mixture is heated through.
- Prior to serving, fill each pepper with approximately 1 cup of mixture, overfilling each pepper slightly. Place a top onto each stuffed pepper and serve with a big jack-o-lantern smile!
Recipe Notes :
- To make carving more manageable, I use an extra small vegetable carving knife. If your peppers won’t stand up well on their own, you can use the carving knife to shave off a small amount of pepper from the bottom. Just don’t cut too much off or you’ll cut a hole in the bottom, causing the stuffing to fall out.
- If you’d like to prep the peppers and then prepare the stuffing and stuff the peppers 24 hours in advance for the night before that will work! Simply pop it in the oven and dinner is served. If for any reason you have leftovers simply store them in an airtight container and either reheat them in the oven or microwave.
