Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers

You may have noticed that I have not 1, but 2 stuffed pepper recipes on this blog. And that is not including another breakfast stuffed pepper recipe. I guess you can say this meal is a favorite around our house, and therefore one I am constantly making and improving.

The problem is that this can also be a time-consuming, multi-step process. And I don’t always have the time for time consuming and multi-step processes. So out of necessity (yes, stuffed peppers are a necessity, deconstructed stuffed peppers were born!

This abbreviated method may not be quite as pretty as the long hand processes, but it sure tastes just as good. Maybe a little better since it takes less than 30 minutes!

Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground hot sausage (can also use soy crumbles, ground pork, ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken)
• 1 small Vidalia onion chopped
• 2 bell peppers (any color – seeded and cut into bite sized pieces)
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 15 oz diced tomatoes
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1-2 teaspoons cumin
• 1.5 cups cooked brown rice

Instructions

• In a medium sauce pan, heat oil
• Add garlic and brown for 30 seconds
• Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water and ketchup
• Bring to a boil, stirring often
• Add cumin, stir
• Cover the sauce and let simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until ready to use
• Meanwhile, brown sausage in a large saute pan, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon
• When sausage is well browned, remove and set aside
• Add onions to the pan you used for the meat
• Allow to brown for 3 – 5 minutes, or until they are translucent
• Add peppers and continue to brown for 3 minutes (don’t let them get mushy)
• Add the meat back to the pan and continue to brown for 3 more minutes
• Add cooked rice to the sausage mixture and stir well
• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes
• Add 1.5 cups of the prepared sauce to the meat mixture, stir well
• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for approximately 5 minutes
• Taste the mixture to see if it needs salt, sugar or more cumin
• Plate the rice mixture and top with the desired amount of sauce