Back Stuffed Bell Peppers

Take your cooking skills to the next level with these delicious and nutritious stuffed bell peppers from Budget Bytes! These hollowed out bell peppers are stuffed with your choice of sweet or spicy Italian sausage, topped off with melted mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce, making this a post workout favorite for many!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 bell peppers
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil, divided
• 1 lb. Italian sausage
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash and dry each bell pepper, then cut the bell peppers in half horizontally. Make sure to cut them as evenly as possible. Using a sharp paring knife carefully cut and remove the stem from the top half of each bell pepper.
2. Place each bell pepper half in a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Brush the bell peppers with 1 Tbsp oil and season with salt and cracked black pepper. Bake the bell peppers in the oven for 20 minutes to soften. Remove the bell peppers from the oven and set aside.
3. While the bell peppers are baking, make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of oil.
4. Once the sausage has browned, add the diced onion and minced garlic to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
5. Add the uncooked rice, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir to combine.
6. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the mixture to come to a full boil. Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it rest, without lifting the lid, for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Remove the lid, fluff the rice, and stir the mixture again to redistribute the ingredients. Fill each bell pepper with the meat filling.
8. Top each bell pepper evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Loosely place some tented aluminum foil over the top of the casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes.
9. Remove the foil and turn the heat on to broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese gets brown on top.