Stuffed Peppers

While I was browsing online for some tasty, comforting, healthy recipes, I came across a recipe for stuffed peppers on Kalyn's Kitchen, a blog devoted to low-carb South Beach Diet friendly cooking.

I decided that since I'd never made stuffed peppers, it would be a good recipe to try. I tweaked Kalyn's recipe a little. I used:

6 bell peppers (3 red & 3 yellow)
1 pound ground venison (beef or lamb would work, too)
12 ounces reduced fat pork sausage (Jimmy Dean)
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
28 ounces crush tomatoes (Rold Gold)
2 ounces capers, drained
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
salt & pepper, to taste

I made the filling by browning (& draining) the meats separately, then sauteeing the onion & garlic in the olive oil just until soft. I mixed it with the meat and added the crushed tomatoes, capers, half of the mozzarella, the feta, herbs, and seasonings.

I packed that into the raw peppers, stood them upright in a square stone casserole dish, and baked covered at 375 for 30 minutes. I removed the foil, topped each pepper with the remaining mozzarella cheese, then baked it for another 20 minutes.

The peppers were still a bit crunchy (which I really didn't mind) & the filling was a tad wet, but the flavor of the meats with the capers, feta, & herbs was rather good.

If I make stuffed peppers again, I'll either par-boil the peppers first or maybe cut them in half & fill with a raw meat mixture before baking.