What seems like a million years ago, but maybe it was only three or four, I was working on getting my kids to love the taste of bell peppers. They were young and bell peppers were something I wanted them to be familiar with and enjoy. This way I could add it to salads and other foods I loved to make for the family.
One day I decided to make stuffed bell peppers that mimicked pizza (crust and all) and things started looking up. They really enjoyed the pepper stuffed with pepperoni, cheese and homemade croutons. Drizzled in pizza sauce it was a familiar and taste. I can now report they eat them, especially when I make them like this!
Here are the stuffed peppers before they go into the oven. They bake up so easily and are a great way to get a serving of veggies into your family’s meal.
Here are some other pepper recipes around the web you might enjoy…
Stuffed Bell Pepper-oni
Ingredients
- 1 lb loaf rosemary & olive oil bread or other crusty bread
- 3/4 cup butter
- 4 large red, yellow or orange bell peppers
- 1 cup coarsely diced pepperoni (not the thinly sliced kind but from a stick)
- 2 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 cups pizza sauce
- 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tablespoon fresh herbs, chopped (rosemary, thyme or basil)
Directions
- Cut off tops of peppers. Remove seeds and membranes. Rinse peppers under cold water. Place peppers in a large pot; cover with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain peppers and set aside.
- Slice bread into 1/2" (crouton sized) cubes (need about 3-1/2 cups). Toast in the oven on a large, rimmed baking sheet at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Working in two batches, toss toasted croutons in the butter, until fully coated and all butter is absorbed. Place croutons in a large bowl and add pepperoni to the skillet still coated with butter. Fry pepperoni over medium heat for about two minutes. Add the pepperoni to the bowl of croutons along with mozzarella cheese and toss well.
- Add pizza sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 9 baking dish. Stuff peppers with crouton-pepperoni mixture and place in the baking dish standing up. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes.
- When done, place each pepper in a bowl and divide pizza sauce evenly over peppers. Top with Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.
Enjoy!
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