Fresh from my Garden....Stuffed Bell Peppers

I love having a garden. Last week I had a nice harvest of 6 bell peppers. I knew right away exactly what I wanted to use them for. Stuffed Bell Peppers! I know that the days of my summer garden are coming to and end so I am trying to savor each and every thing that I harvest. When you make stuffed bell peppers you can put anything inside that you like. There are no rules. I will share the recipe that I made up. 

I like to make a sauce first. My family enjoys rice so I serve the bell peppers over rice topped with the sauce. I start by chopping up mushrooms and fresh basil. I also chop up a clove or two of garlic. I start by putting the garlic in my skillet with a little bit of Olive Oil. I sauté the garlic until lightly browned and then I add the mushrooms. I also use a bit of sea salt at this time. 

I add diced tomato at this point. I use 1 large can. I like to add a little bit of sugar to my sauce. Using sugar helps to counter act the acid from the tomatoes. I use about a teaspoon. I let this sauce simmer for about 20 minutes. The sauce is ready after this.

For the filling I make some rice and just eyeball the amount I like to use to put inside the pepper. I had some baked chicken left over so I chopped it all up and mixed this with some sauce and rice. I do not use a lot of rice but you can use whatever amount you would like.

I then get out my fresh Parmesan cheese and grate away. Once it is grated I set it aside until I am ready for it.

Below is a picture of my mixture that will go inside of the bell peppers. This time I decided to add a small can of diced olives. It helped to give the filling a little something extra. I cut the tops of the bell peppers off and clean out the inside and begin to stuff them.

I put the remaining sauce in the bottom of a pyrex baking dish and place the stuffed peppers on top. I will then top the peppers off with the freshly grated parmesan cheese. I place them into a 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes.

The mixture will be bubbling and the cheese will be a light brown color. I remove them from the oven and let them sit a couple of minutes before serving.

My family likes to have their bell peppers served over a bed of rice with some sauce. This is a very healthy and filling dish. I have to say that if there are any left overs they taste even better the next day. There is just something about cooking with sauces that makes them taste even better the next day. This dish is always a crowd pleaser at my house. I can't wait until I have another batch of bell peppers to bring in from my garden.

  I have a busy week ahead of me. My first 5k is coming up on Sunday. To be honest I am starting to get a bit excited about it. I have no idea what to expect. I just know that I am going to go out there and do the very best that I can. I am not in competition with anybody. I am doing this for me. With each step that I take I will be thinking of my friend that lost his life in the line of duty as well as all of the other law Enforcement Officers in our County that have lost their lives in the line of duty. It is a day of remembrance and a way to honor them. It should be a very nice day.