Chef John's Stuffed Peppers

When was the last time you had a great stuffed bell pepper?

"This recipe's roots can be traced back to the Great Depression, when farmers first began selling the unripe peppers out of necessity. Of course, we did what Americans always do when faced with a new variety of food, we stuffed meat in it."

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cups water
Sauce:
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups marinara sauce or pasta sauce
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Peppers:

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound hot Italian pork sausage, casing removed
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
4 large green bell peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Bring rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the cooked rice aside.
3. Cook onion and olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Transfer half of cooked onion to a large bowl and set aside.
4. Stir marinara sauce, beef broth, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes into the skillet; cook and stir for 1 minute.
5. Pour sauce mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
6. Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, diced tomatoes, Italian parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper into bowl with reserved onions; mix well. Stir in cooked rice and Parmigiano Reggiano. Stuff green bell peppers with beef and sausage mixture.
7. Place stuffed green bell pepper halves in the baking dish over tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
8. Remove aluminum foil and bake until the meat is no longer pink, the green peppers are tender and the cheese is browned on top, an addition 20 to 25 minutes.

Printed From Allrecipes.com

Italian Sausage Rigatoni Bake

This casserole combines all of our favorite Italian flavors, 

but the fresh mozzarella really sets it apart!

Serve this with a warm Ciabatta Bread

Ingredients

1 package (16 ounces) rigatoni
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
5 cups marinara sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons half-and-half cream
1 pound sliced part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cook rigatoni according to package directions; drain.
• In a large skillet, cook sausage, mushrooms and pepper over medium-high heat until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, breaking up sausage into crumbles, 8-10 minutes; drain. Stir in marinara sauce, Parmesan cheese and cream. Add rigatoni and toss to coat.
• In each of two greased 8-in. square baking dishes, layer one-fourth of the rigatoni mixture and one-fourth of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, until heated through and cheese is melted, 25-35 minutes. (Cover loosely with foil if tops brown too quickly.)
  
  
  Freeze option: Cool unbaked casseroles; cover and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake casseroles as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

From: tasteofhome.com

Meatballs and Gravy

This recipe is tried and true!

I’m not going to pretend that I am Italian, because of every nationality that is mixed through my veins – Italian is about the single one that I am not. However, I love Italian food & tend to make some pretty great meals when I cook Italian food. This is something I am confident I can make well…enter Meatballs and Gravy. Now, since I am not Italian by birth (only by choice) I would not have known that the sauce is actually called gravy, when you put it on meatballs. Also, I found everything I need to make this wonderful recipe at Harter House and Harter House World Flavors.

Meatballs and Gravy

Ingredients:
For Meatballs:

1.5 lb. of mild Italian sausage

1.5 lb. lean ground beef

2 eggs

2 tsp Dried Italian Seasoning

3/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (reduced fat)

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

pinch brown sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

For “Gravy”

2 large cans Cento crushed tomatoes

2 cloves fresh minced garlic

1 small yellow or white onion

olive oil

1/2 diced roasted Italian red pepper

fresh basil – minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

pinch sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

couple dashes hot sauce

1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp of lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Open a bottle of your favorite wine and consume while cooking.

3. Combine all ingredients for the meatballs into a bowl. Once all the ingredients are blended together, you are going to form your balls. These are meant to be bigger than the kind you find in your spaghetti – since they are the main course. So you want them to fill up a good handful (why is this starting to sound dirty)…

Once you have all your meatballs formed, line them up on a cookie tray. Its really important not to crowd the tray so the meat cooks evenly. Once you have this step completed, put your meatballs in the oven – reduce the heat to 375 and cook for exactly 45 minutes. Reducing the heat allows for the outside to form a slight crunch, while the inside cooks perfectly.

4. Now we start on the sauce! Slice the onions & chop garlic & add to saucepan over medium heat with about 2 swirls of olive oil in the pan.

Once the onions have cooked and are translucent, add in the remaining ingredients for the sauce, starting with the crushed tomatos. After you have all the ingredients added & well incorporated, turn the heat to low & cover. The flavors will all blend together on a low simmer while the meatballs finish cooking.

5. When the meatballs are done you are going to take each one and add to your sauce, excuse me, gravy…. and roll around to make sure they are completely covered. Optional step is to place a slice of mozerella on each meatball (after its been rolled in the gravy) and cover again for just a minute to melt the cheese.

6. For the salad, I cheated and bought a bag of Ultimate Caesar Salad mix, but I am not kidding when I say, it was the BEST bag of salad I have ever bought. BECAUSE it has the shaved Parmesan cheese, the creamy dressing & this little spice mix to sprinkle on top that I had never seen before….

(PS, I always cut out the lettuce "ribs")

I topped my meatballs with some grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Italian Sausage Stromboli

I LOVE Italian Sausage.  I LOVE any type of Stromboli, and we never get tired of this recipe.

Start with pizza dough, then cooked Italian sausage, lots of mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of pizza sauce.  You can add sauteed peppers, olives, ham, pepperoni or any other topping that suits your fancy.

Just like pizza, the possibilities are endless.  Then roll and bake.  You can serve this with a salad for a 30 minute meal or alongside veggies and dip as an appetizer. 

Ingredients you’ll need:

1 medium sweet onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1lb spicy Italian sausage

1/2 cup pizza sauce, plus more for dipping

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 - 13.4 oz. refrigerated pizza crust (such as Pillsbury Classic) or 1lb homemade pizza dough

Topping:

1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp dry Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a medium stove top saucepan, saute the onion in a couple of drizzles of olive oil for 3 minutes until soft.  Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add the Italian sausage and cook until no pink remains.  Drain any excess fat from the pan and remove from the heat to cool.  This can be done ahead of time for a time saver.   Drain well and refrigerate if making in advance.

To assemble:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.  On parchment paper, stretch the dough into roughly a 10 x 13 inch rectangle.  Sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Arrange the cooked sausage on top, then drizzle with the pizza sauce.  Top with the remaining shredded cheese, and begin to roll starting from the widest edge.  Arrange seem side down on the prepared baking sheet.

For the topping:

Brush the top and sides with melted butter, then sprinkle the seasonings on top.  Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.  [Tip: All of the seasonings can be adjusted to suit your taste.]

Bake for 18 minutes then allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into 1 inch slices.  Serve with additional pizza sauce for dipping, if desired.  Yield: 12 pieces

Italian Sausage Stromboli

Author: Melissa Sperka

Serves: 12