Damn Fine Peppers

Oh Hai! Did you say you were looking for a delicious weeknight meal? Of course you did. Now eat this up!!

Damn Fine Stuffed Italian Peppers

6 bell peppers, caps & inards removed, caps chopped and bases left to stuff
~1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 tsp garlic, minced
1 pkg baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 pkg natural Italian sausage (I used Bob Evans brand)
1 1/2 cups of Trader Joes harvest grain blend (cous cous, orzo, quinoa, and bean mixture)
1 Quart chicken stock (in which to cook grain blend)
1/4 cup parmesean cheese, grated
2 cups tomato sauce
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp fresh parsley and basil, each, chopped
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning mix
1 Tbsp crushed red peppers
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup diced & sliced fresh mozzarella

1. Slice stems and tops off peppers. Roughly chop these tops for use later. Remove seeds and white membranes. Rinse and set aside to dry.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In the mean time, warm a skillet on medium with ~1 Tbsp olive oil. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until onion looks translucent. Then add chopped mushrooms and zucchini, and cook until just browned. Place this mixture in a large bowl.
3. Using the same skillet from the onions, cook the sausage until no longer pink.
4. In the mean time, boil the chicken stock, and once a rolling boil is obtained, stir in 1 1/2 cups of grains. Cook for about 8 minutes until al dente, drain, and place in the large bowl once cool.
5. Back to the sausage, once cool, add that to the large bowl. Again using the same skillet, slightly sautee the pepper tops. Add this to the large bowl.
6. Now that all the main ingredients are in the large bowl, add the tomato sauce, the diced tomatoes (I drained the can), the herbs, the parm, and the spices, salt and pepper. Stir until incorporated. The final mixture should be just slightly wet, kind of like risotto.
   
7. Stuff each pepper base with the mixture, placing upright in a 2 quart casserole dish that has been coated with cooking spray.
8. Place any remaining mixture around the peppers in the dish, and if there is any remaining sauce, dot that over the peppers.
   
9. Bake for 35 minutes (covered with aluminum foil), then remove from the oven and sprinkle chopped mozzarella over the whole dish, and a slice of mozzarella over each pepper. Put back in the oven uncovered and bake 10-12 minutes more until the cheese is melted.
   

So that's that! This really was a fantastic meal. Serve with a few slices of fresh bread and butter, and small garden salads, and you're good to go.