faking italy.

So, after a leisurely break, I decided to make some stuffed peppers. Continuing with the themed nights, I went with "Italy" even though this isn't even remotely Italian. Hah! That's okay...last night's dinner wasn't really Moroccan either, was it? Lol.

I wanted to make something that wasn't pasta and used what I had already in the cupboards. The recipe seemed interesting and I figured I'd do what I could. When I followed the directions almost entirely with a few substitutions here and there, I ended up with a whopping amount of meat filling. Yikes! X_X; After reading through some of the comments, people did have some similar results, *sigh* Thant's okay though...I made some to freeze to have at a later date. One less thing to worry about in the future, lol.

I've halved the recipe for the meat mix and wrote the directions of how I made my peppers. I used breadcrumbs in my version just because that's what I had on hand. Next time I'll try it with the rice (or even couscous!) and see how that turns out. I also decided to give the peppers a head start by steaming them in the microwave for a little bit. I hate it when they're raw compared to the rest of the dish! Also, whipped up a batch of Italian seasoning mix, used it in the recipe, and found that I didn't really need to add any additional salt or pepper--which is always a great thing! Huzzah!

In the end, though, these turned out great! It had sort of a meatloaf-fy thing going on and the marinara sauce was awesome! I did have to water down the sauce a little (blasphemy!) as I had reduced it a little too much. Pretty tasty though. I only made two portions and the hubby was disappointed he couldn't have seconds. There was a lot of extra salad tho, lol! He was happy when I said I had some in the freezer. Might have to put that in the oven this weekend. :)

Italian-Style Stuffed Peppers
(adapted from AllRecipes.com)

1/2 lbs lean ground beef
3 oz mild Italian sausage
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp plus 1/2 tbsp Italian dressing mix, divided
1 clove plus 2 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1 cup plus 1/4 cup marinara sauce, divided
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
handful Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp bread crumbs, divided

1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
2 large bell peppers, halved, deseeded, and membranes removed
4 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 375F. Pour 1 cup marinara into a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.

With damp paper towels, wrap the bell peppers and microwave for 30 seconds on high. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, cook onion, 1 clove minced garlic, and 1/4 tsp Italian dressing mix in olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.

Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, 1/2 cup marinara sauce, Italian parsley, remaining garlic, remaining Italian seasoning, and balsamic dressing into bowl with the cooked onions; mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup bread crumbs and Parmigiano Reggiano. Do a taste test by taking a little bit of the meat and sausage mixture and cooking it in a pan. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.

After seasoning is to taste, remove the cooled peppers from the paper towels. Stuff bell peppers with beef and sausage mixture. Place stuffed bell pepper halves in the baking dish over marinara sauce; sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs and top with feta cheese. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Remove aluminum foil and bake until the meat is no longer pink, the peppers are tender, and the cheese is browned on top, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Serve topped with chopped Italian parsley and with additional marinara sauce, if desired.

 

Italian Dressing Mix
(from Seasons with the Sewells)

1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp kosher salt

To make mix:
Combine all ingredients together and store in an airtight container (I put mine in my spice grinder and blitzed it for a few seconds before storing it. :D). Use 2 tablespoons of this mix whenever a recipe calls for one package of dry Italian seasoning mix.

To make dressing:
Combine 2 tablespoons of dry mix, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 2/3 cup olive oil together in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shaker well.