Italian Stuffed Peppers
I was looking around my refrigerator trying to figure out how to use up some Happy Box produce when I spotted some unused Feta cheese. I began rolling around options in my head and came up with this recipe. I immediately went to the grocery store because my recent obsession with sun-dried tomatoes had left me without any.
I should start by saying that I am not a huge fan of traditional stuffed peppers. They just lack “something” for me. I eat them, but I don’t get excited about them. These? These I was excited about!
And they did not disappoint. My husband who is also a stuffed pepper critic was also impressed by the flavor combination. He even complimented them, rather than just tolerated them, which was a HUGE success in my book. My feeling is that they were better with red rather than green peppers but either way they were delightful and full of Italian flavors. And they are a break from your traditional green pepper.
Author/Source:
Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked rice
- .5 lbs cooked chicken, shredded
- 4 oz feta crumbles
- 8.5 ounces sun-dried tomatoes pack in oil (do not drain)
Directions:
Clean and core the peppers. Cook the rice. Set aside 1 ounce of feta crumbles. In a large bowl mix all ingredients together except the peppers and the set aside feta crumbles. Mix well. Stuff each of the peppers with the mixture. Sprinkle the remaining feta on top. Bake in a glass dish at 350 degrees for 45 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Freezing Directions:
Cover each pepper individually in saran wrap. Place 4 in a gallon freezer bag and freeze. To serve: Remove the amount that you need and thaw. Bake in a glass dish at 350 degrees for 45 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Servings: 4
This Post will be linked at:
- Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale
- Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
- Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
- Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy
These sound great! Think I will try them with ground italian sausage and black olives as well, since I have that on hand.
We did try these with the ground italian sausage and black olives and they were really good. Something added to make it a little more creamy would be great. I’m thinking about cutting some feta and adding some asiago cheese next time, to be a little like the Italian Flank Steak Pinwheels, which were VERY good as well! Thanks Tricia for the recipes!!!
Mmm…wouldn’t these be good with tomato sauce poured over them like “normal” stuffed peppers? Are you supposed to drain the oil from the tomatoes, or is that the liquid to bind everything together?
Perhaps they would but they were SO good just this way. They weren’t dry either!
I am planning a variation on these tomorrow night involving pizza sauce and Italian sausage instead of peppers … and maybe cooking in the crockpot. I’ll let you know how it goes!
[...] Vanderbilt Wife: I am planning a variation on these tomorrow night involving pizza sauce and Italian sausage instead… [...]
What could I use as a Feta substitute? My husband is not a fan of that cheese.
Also, what do we do with the feta cheese that we set aside? Do we add it after baking?
I would say a Mozzarella would likely still work well. And I made an update to the directions as apparently I had left out a step!
Another silly question.
I only found little jars of sun dried tomatoes. Do I drain them from the oil before I use them?
Do NOT drain the oil when making this recipe! You need the extra bit of oil to help moisten the rice.
Tricia,
You are Johnny on the Spot!!! Thank you for answering my questions so quickly. Seriously, I didn’t expect to get a response until Monday. You are awesome.
Gonna go finish my bell peppers now.
Just finished making my stuffed bell peppers, thanks to Tricia’s guidance.
They are beautiful! I used to sell Pampered Chef, many moons ago, and I just found my “V-Shaped Cutter” in a drawer. It worked great to cut the tops of the peppers off. It made a very cute/decorative v-shaped cut all along the top. Fun recipe, and super easy!
[...] ranch dressing. Mmm. I also liked them cooked in many dishes. I have recently experimented with a variation on stuffed peppers because I am not such a fan of the traditional kind. These were a much healthier version to me and [...]