Pork, Caulirice, and Feta Stuffed Red Peppers

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I consider myself a celebratory person. The proof is in the pudding:

• It's Derby Day and we don't live anywhere near the Derby, nor are we watching it? We're making Mint Juleps!
  
• It's your birthday and you're over 30 and thus not a child anymore? Screw it, I'm putting up streamers.
  
• We're eating lunch on a Monday? We're getting Mimosas!

For some reason, stuffed peppers feel celebratory to me. Maybe it's just the effort required to prepare them - you know that someone put time and thought into your meal. There is something special about a meal that takes just a smidge longer, something that can't be prepared in 5 minutes and thrown in the oven. Something that takes deliberate cuts, intentional ricing, and lots of love.

So maybe the proof isn't in the pudding. Maybe it's in the stuffed peppers.

It was a total stroke of luck that these babies were ready to be popped in the oven on Cinco de Mayo.

A week ago, I prepped these - cooked the sausage, riced the cauliflower, stirred in the feta, and prepped and stuffed the peppers. But then dinner plans came up, so despite being thrilled about my new creation, I popped it in its dish and placed it in the freezer.

Which ended up being the best way it could have happened. 

Because Cinco came around and I had totally forgotten. I was texting my husband saying we had to at least have some margs, and then I realized: I have stuffed peppers. That counts, right?

I have long been a proponent of being prepared. Prepping meals on a Sunday before a busy week. Having some bacon in the freezer (read: ALWAYS <--that should have been on my life lessons...).

And these as a freezer meal did not disappoint. So God knows they would be fabulous fresh.

Sausage, Caulirice, and Feta Stuffed Red Peppers

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of ground sausage (You can use any kind here. If you can handle it, opt for something with a bit of kick! I used a combo of ground italian pork sausage and ground breakfast pork sausage.)
• 4 red peppers
• 1/2 cauliflower head (you can also purchase cauliflower florets, you will need about 2-3 cups of those)
• 1/2 cup feta
• Shredded cheese (for topping)
• Cilantro (for topping)
• 1/2 avocado (for topping)
• Tomatillo salsa (for topping - I used Herdez)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Brown sausage in a pan. You will want to cook it all the way through.
3. While sausage is cooking, cut the tops off of red peppers and remove the seeds. Place them upright in a pan that is small enough to contain them without them tipping over.
4. Use a cheese grater to "rice" the cauliflower. Simply run it over the grater like cheese, and it will produce small rice-like flakes.
5. When the sausage is almost finished cooking (about 15 minutes), add cauliflower and feta to the pan and toss/stir until well combined.
6. Remove from heat. Use a spatula or large spoon to transfer into the red peppers, distributing evenly. Top with shredded cheese.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
8. Top with cilantro, avocado, and salsa.

Herbed Cheese and Turkey Bacon Stuffed Peppers

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I had planned to put together and post the recipe for the delicious egg, bacon, and spinach bake I made for St. Patrick's Day brunch with our neighbors. Unfortunately, I've been sort of out of commission the past 24-36 hours due to a mean cold. So, instead, here's a recipe I've been sitting on for a while. :)

I whipped up these herbed cheese and turkey bacon stuffed peppers on Saturday afternoon after a long run. I wanted to stuff my face with something that felt like only my mom or a restaurant could make. It only took about 5-10 minutes to prep total, with about 15-20 minutes of bacon frying/pepper baking in there.

Herbed Cheese and Turkey Bacon Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 5 sticks Turkey Bacon
• 8 Sweet Red Peppers
• 1/4 cup Herbed Feta Cheese (If you can't find this, you can just toss the Feta with Italian Herbs)
• 1/3 cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese
• Mixed Shredded Cheese, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Fry turkey bacon. I sprayed the pan first with Pam and then fried them for 8 minutes on the first side, 3-5 on the other, and then let them sit on a paper towel to dry and crisp.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Break turkey bacon into tiny pieces (think Bacon Bits!), then combine with feta and cottage cheese and mix well.
4. Slice a side off of the red peppers (just enough to open it up and make the inside visible, like you're carving out a little boat). Stuff mixture into the pepper. 
5. Arrange peppers in a pan and bake for 10 minutes. Then, turn the temperature up to broil and broil for just a minute or two, until the top layer of cheese is as melty as you want (and perhaps a bit burned, if you like that)!

Notes:

• Feel free to substitute regular, good-old piggy bacon for the turkey bacon. If you can, opt for uncured. 
• Another tasty substitution might be subbing goat cheese for feta cheese!
• Use any kind of pepper you want! Red, green, yellow, orange... whatever you like!

Enjoy!

GRATEFULNESS:
Dear Self,
Thanks for taking so many freaking pictures of every darn thing you create that, even on a sick day when you don't have the energy to edit more recent pictures and type up a recipe, you still have something fairly post-ready. Some people might think you're crazy for being so snap-happy. I think you're pretty awesome. :)
Love,
Yourself