Smoked Sausage Stuffed Bell Peppers

I'm always looking for ways to use leftovers.  For two reasons:  1. I really hate wasting food and 2. It cuts down on cooking time.  You can get supper on the table faster and easier.  This recipe uses leftover rice (which I always have in the fridge) plus some other staples that are usually in my kitchen.

   

SMOKED SAUSAGE STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

1/2 lb smoked sausage, diced
4 large bell peppers
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1 TBS tomato paste
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
4 cups cooked leftover rice (cold)
salt and pepper to taste
Beef broth (or chicken broth)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the tops off the bell peppers.

Clean out the seeds and ribs from inside the peppers.

Remove the stems from the tops.

Dice two of the tops to use in this recipe.  The other two tops can be saved for another recipe.  You can refrigerate them in a zip top bag for a few days.  You can even freeze them for a few months and just thaw out what you need.

Meanwhile, steam the cleaned bell peppers in the microwave for 4-5 minutes.  If you don't have a microwave steamer, you can boil a pot of water and then place the peppers in the boiling water for 5-7 minutes.  You just want to soften them a little.  Not too much, though.  They still need to hold their shape.

In a big skillet over medium-high heat, brown the diced sausage.

Once browned, remove the sausage to a plate.  Next, add the onion, garlic, green onions and diced bell pepper tops to the skillet.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes until softened.

Return the sausage to the skillet.

Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.  Stir.

Add the cold, cooked rice and stir to mix thoroughly.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Then, add enough beef broth to make the rice wet but not swimming.  I used about 1 cup.  You don't want the rice to be dry because if it's dry before it goes into the oven, it will be VERY dry when it comes out of the oven.  (You can use chicken broth, but I like the depth of flavor the beef broth adds).

Place steamed bell peppers into a baking dish.

Fill the peppers with the rice mixture.

If you have any leftover (or if you have a picky eater who won't eat a bell pepper) you can add some rice straight into the dish.  (You could also fill a hollowed out tomato or onion, whatever you have on hand).

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

These stuffed bell peppers are delicious.  The peppers impart great flavor to the rice dressing.  It almost tastes like a jambalaya, but much faster and easier to make.

This recipe is so easy to double or half, depending on how many mouths you're feeding.  You could use Italian Sausage or breakfast sausage, even ground beef, whatever you have in your kitchen.  The next time you make rice, make a little extra so you can whip up this easy dish.

My Pickiest Eater Ever Son ate the rice that was not in a pepper (shocking, right?) but he ate.  My Old School Italian Husband, who's not a big bell pepper fan, said "Wow, that was really good," as he went back for seconds.  I'd say this one's a winner!

Louisiana Dirty Rice

"Dirty Rice" may sound weird and unappetizing but, in fact, it's delicious.  I guess ,because I grew up eating it, it never occurred to me that the name was weird.  I just automatically associated it with goodness.  It was only when a friend (from up North) asked if it was called dirty rice because it fell on the floor that I even thought about the name.  It's just a dish made with white rice that has been colored to look "dirty" by cooking it with meat and seasonings.  You can eat it by itself or use it to stuff bell peppers.  Usually, it's made with giblets (I really don't like giblets. Ugh!), but it can be made with ground beef, which is what I use.  Also, it's a great use for leftover rice (which I always have!).  Here's the easy. quick recipe:

LOUISIANA DIRTY RICE


1 lb ground beef
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1/2 a bell pepper, chopped
2 cups cooked, cold rice (important that it's cold!)
2 TBS tomato paste
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
a few dashes hot sauce
salt/pepper

Brown ground beef with onion and bell pepper in a large skillet.

Drain off any excess grease, but leave a little (that's flavor!).

Season it to taste with salt and pepper.

Add tomato paste and saute for a few minutes.

Add Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.  Then stir in the cold, cooked rice.  (If it's not cold, it will get way too mushy!  I like to use left over rice that's been in the fridge).

Season it to taste again with salt and pepper.  If it seems too dry, add a little bit of water and stir well.

That's it.  It's so easy and very filling.  Plus it tastes really good!

If you want to go a step further, you can use the dirty rice to stuff some bell peppers.

You can either cut the tops off the peppers, clean the insides out, blanch them in boiling water, then individually fill each with the dirty rice before baking or take the easy way out and do this:

Cut the tops off the peppers then cut them in half and clean out the seeds.  Lay the halves in a casserole dish.

Spoon the dirty rice over the peppers.

Make a "sauce" by mixing ketchup, a few dashes each of hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce.  Spread sauce over each.

Pour about 1/4 cup water into the bottom of the casserole dish. The water helps to steam the peppers and soften them without having to blanch them before baking.  Great short-cut!  Cover with foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake 5 minutes more to brown the tops.

This is a much easier version of stuffed bell peppers.

So, whether you stuff peppers with it or eat it by itself, Dirty Rice is a delicious, easy and filling dish.  Don't let the name scare you.