And if you're having guests over, why not place a little cardstock groundhog on the end of a toothpick and have him poke his head out of these stuffed pappers? I've included a cartoon groundhog at the end of the page, so you can print him off and tape him to toothpicks. What fun!
4 large or medium sized bell peppers
1/2 pound Italian sausage or hamburger
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can of tomato sauce (8 oz.)
3 cups cooked rice (I like Jasmine rice)
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Directions:
1. Cut the tops off the peppers. Remove the seeds within. Then, in a large boiling pot, blanch the peppers in boiling water for three minutes. Drain and rinse them in cold water and set them aside. They should be flexible but not soft.
2. In a skillet, brown the sausage or burger over medium heat, adding onion and garlic after a minute or two. (If your sausage is already spicy--like Jimmy Dean's GF sausage--you can leave out the garlic, onion, and probably the thyme too. Only season as needed in that case.)
3. Stir in the tomato sauce, thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer for two minutes, stirring constantly, to allow seasonings to blend into the tomato sauce.
4. Scoop about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the saucy meat mixture into a bowl and set aside. (This depends on how big your peppers are. If they're big peppers--like the monsters you can buy in a store--only set aside 1/4 cup. If they're smaller peppers--like the ones I grow in my garden--set aside 1/2 cup.)
5. Add the rice and stir.
6. Spoon the mixture from your saucepan into the blanched peppers. Place the peppers in an ungreased casserole dish. Use the 1/4 cup that you set aside (and any extra you left in the pan) to drizzle over the top of the peppers, filling the edges of the casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F (approx. 175 degrees C).
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