Italian Stuffed Mini-Peppers

You may have seen these little cuties in the store and wondered what you are supposed to do with baby bell peppers. So I purchased a package and decided they would be good for an appetizer. They could also be used on a buffet if the crowd isn't too large. As say that because it can be tedious cleaning out so many little peppers when you only get a bite or two from each one.


The recipe is pretty easy and much like a meatball except I'm using Italian sausage as the main ingredient. This is a spicy Italian sausage as I know my group likes that but you could really use any type of filling you prefer.


Ingredients
6-8 mini bell peppers
1/3 pound Italian sausage, bulk
1 egg
1/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese for topping

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees or heat your grill with the lid closed to a similar interior temperature.

Wash and clean the mini peppers removing the stem and cleaning them out through the opening as shown. Remove as much of the inner fibers as possible without damaging the pepper.

Mix together the remaining ingredients and stuff into each pepper.  Place in a casserole dish and bake or in a grill-safe dish, place on the grill (closed).  Bake for 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the center of the largest pepper reads 170F degrees.  Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake for 5-10 minutes until melted or brown quickly under the broiler.

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