Spicy Sausage and Spanish Rice Stuffed Peppers – OH MY!

Name: Spicy Sausage and Spanish Rice Stuffed Peppers – OH MY!
Yield: 4
Ingredients: spicy italian sausage: 1 lb; bell peppers: 4; spanish rice: 1 package; green onion: 1 large stalk diced; diced tomatoes: 1 can; green chilis: 1 can; olive oil: 1 T; paprika: 1 t; cayenne: 1 t; garlic powder: 1 t; avocado: 1 large; mexican shredded cheese blend

For an EZ meal, try these spiced up stuffed peppers served with a packaged salad mix. Add avocado slices and you are all set!

Ingredients

1 lb spicy italian sausage
4 bell peppers
1 package spanish rice
or you can make your own; sub cilantro lime quinoa
1 large stalk diced green onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green chilis
mild or hot
1 T olive oil
for rice water
1 t paprika
1 t cayenne
optional
1 t garlic powder
1 large avocado
optional
mexican shredded cheese blend
enough to top your peppers at the end of the cooking process

Directions

Spicy Sausage and Spanish Rice Stuffed Peppers

But first, a little vent time here…

I volunteered at my son’s school for picture day on Tuesday and I can honestly say that my feet and my back STILL HURT! I would not recommend picture volunteering IF:

If the truth be told, you really only like your child and no one else
If you are squeamish and cannot begin to handle other people’s bodily functions
You are awaiting toe fusion surgery on BOTH feet (that’s me)
You were born with patience or a filter (that may also be me)

I plead the 5th on 1 and 2. WHAT WAS I THINKING?? I was thinking that I really need to volunteer at my son’s school once in a while, be a better mom, person, etc. (insert finger in mouth to imitate puking face). In all seriousness, if you have time to volunteer at your kid’s school, then you should. The teachers and programs always need extra help! And I pulled the trigger on this little special opportunity because volunteers receive a free picture package. I mean have you seen the prices of school pictures these days! HIGHWAY ROBBER! Excuse me ma’am, can you bend over…

So there it is. I’m no mother of the year but I’m on a budget these days so if I hadn’t volunteered, I wouldn’t have ordered pictures this year. Perhaps I will post one when they come in. My son in his Pikachu button down. Fancy but playful!

Oh yeah, you are here for the recipe! Ma bad! I love stuffed peppers and you can put anything in them and they really do turn out GUUURRRREAT! I wouldn’t recommend hamster stuffed peppers or anything like that but the possibilities are endless.

You know me. I’m going the SOLTO SexiMeix route. If you love Mexican food like i do, then you know that taking a recipe and adding a mexican flare has got to make it truly sing! . I can hear my family now -“trust us, we have Mexican or some Latin cuisine all the time” – while shaking their heads as they scarf down my latest Latin inspired dish.

Stay tuned for more culturally inspired and diverse stuffed peppers recipes and ideas.

Did you know there is a secret to great stuffed peppers?

PARABOIL your peppers before you stuff them. To paraboil is to submerge the peppers in boiling water for about 6-8 minutes until they are slightly soft. They will cook the rest of the way in the oven so you do not want to overcook them in the boiling water.

Lastly in regards to the peppers – before you paraboil, cut the nubs on the bottom of the paper so the pepper has a better chance of standing up on its own. In other words, take a sliver or just enough off of the bottom to create a flat surface. DO NOT make a hole in the bottom. Kinda defeats the purpose dontcha think?

What kind of sausage?

For this recipe, I bought hot italian link sausage in casings because it was on sale. You want the consistency of ground pork. You can buy ground spicy pork sausage to bypass this next step. For the link style sausage you will remove the outer casing before placing them in the skillet and break it up with a wooden spoon or other such tool like you would hamburger meat. The best way I have found to remove the casing is by using a paring knife to make a slit at the top of the link and then pretend its toothpaste and squeeze the opposite end towards the slit to get all of the sausage out and the casings in the trash.

How spicy is this?

This is as spicy as you want it or not very spicy at all. If you want to reduce the heat component, do not use the cayenne and buy mild sausage. Do not add the jalapeno and make sure you buy the mild green chilies.

Here’s goes one of my first challenges on the blog.

SOLTO CHALLENGE #1:

If you have a crazy stuffed pepper recipe that will blow my mind, send it to me. If you have a photo of your dish, send that in as well. I’m going to choose 3 recipes to try out. The winning stuffed pepper dish will be featured on my blog, Facebook, and Instagram.

I hope you guys participate in this challenge and the ones ahead. I’m anxious to see what you are doing with peppers.

Do you social? Me too!

Make this, take a photo, and on da GRAM – #SOLTOcrew AND don’t forget to @sanityorlackthereof | Find more from SOLTO on Pinterest and join my crazy wack cookery crew on Facebook. Glad you came to party!

Leave me a comment and let me know whats rolling around in that noggin of yours.

Until we eat again…

Steps

1 Done	Mise en place! Make certain that you have all of your ingredients, weapons, tool, pans, etc. out and set up. Now you are fully armed and dangerous. After reading the recipe once or twice in its entirety, preheat your oven to 385F and cut all your veggies except for the avocado (wait until you are almost ready to plate so the avocado doesnt start to turn too quickly). For the bell peppers, use any color and cut just the tops off of them but do not discard the tops. See photos. They are part of the decor. Remove the seeds and white ribs from the inside.
2 Done	In a large pot, fill 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil. Add sea salt to water if preferred. When a rapid boil is present, add the peppers and their lids ensuring that the pepper is fully submerged in the water. Right side up should sink them as they fill up with water like the titanic. After 6-7 minutes, use tongs to pull those puppies out of that bath and set on paper towel to drain.
3 Done	Heat a skillet over med. high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the sausage. If you used sausage links, break up the sausage so it resembles ground beef. Brown the meat until it is no longer pink but do not cook thoroughly. The meat will continue to cook in the oven.
4 Done	Add the can of tomatoes and green chilies and stir to combine. Add seasonings and stir again.
5 Done	While the meat is browning, make the spanish rice according to the package.
6 Done	Combine the meat mixture and rice into a large bowl and stir gently, folding it to combine the ingredients. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime. Add cilantro if using and stir.
7 Done	Time to Stuff! The mixture will be rather hot so please be careful. Overfill each pepper ensuring that every nook and cranny is filled with this yummy concoction. Place in oven safe dish. Cover loosely with foil. Bake for 18 minutes. Note: If you think your peppers are in jeopardy of falling over, use balled up foil to create walls to help the peppers stand up straight.
8 Done	Last few minutes of the baking process. Open oven and pull rack out. Add cheese to the tops and continue to cook for the last few minutes
9 Done	While the stuffed peppers are cooking, make your prepackaged salad. Super easy. Mix it all together. Done. Slice your avocado towards the end. Perhaps cut it right after you have sprinkled the cheese on the peppers and returned them to bake.
10 Done	To plate. Place the stuffed pepper slightly angled down or right-side up and place the top on it or beside it (see photos for ideas). Top with green onions. Serve a with good portion of salad mix and avocado slices. Serve and prepare yourself for the silence at the table (except for the clanging of silverware and chewing noises). Enjoy it!