Stuffed Peppers

Another winner from Pinterest!  Here's the original post:
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/04/stuffed-peppers-with-italian-sausage.html

Here's my picture:

I took this after we had eaten the others because I had forgotten to take one when they were all in the pan.

The original recipe used both ground beef and turkey sausage links, but I only used seasoned pork sausage patties.  I also only made 4 peppers, but I would have been able to fill another pepper as I had extra "stuff".

Here's what I did:

Sausage Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
4 peppers, a mixture of colors
1 pound seasoned pork sausage
1/2 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)
2 tsp. olive oil for sautéing veggies
1 cup (or slightly more) tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Cut tops off peppers, making a deep enough cut that you have some pepper to chop for the filling. Square off the bottom of each pepper to make them stand up. (It's nice to have a small hole in the bottom so any extra fat can drain out, and cutting off the bottoms also accomplishes this.)  Clean out inside of peppers and wash if needed.  Choose a pan that will keep the peppers standing upright and spray with olive oil or nonstick spray.

In very large frying pan, cook sausage until lightly browned. Drain grease and set sausage aside.

Add oil to pan and cook chopped peppers and onions for about 3-4 minutes, until barely starting to soften. Turn off heat and put meat back into pan with peppers and onions. Add about 1 cup tomato sauce, just enough to barely moisten the mixture. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Let mixture cool slightly, then mix in 1 cup cheese, saving 1/4 cup Mozzarella for the top of the peppers.

Put the peppers in the pan standing upright.  Stuff each pepper with meat/veggie/cheese mixture, using a large spoon and pressing in tightly until you use all the filling. Put a pinch of Mozzarella cheese on the top of each pepper.  Cover the dish loosely with foil, tenting it up so it doesn't touch the tops of the peppers.

Bake, covered with foil about 30 minutes. Take off foil and bake about 20 minutes more, until cheese is melted completely and top is slightly browned.   Serve hot.

The sausage mixture would freeze well, so even if you're only cooking for one or two you could make a double batch and stash some in the freezer for lunches or easy dinners another time.