Pasta-Stuffed Bell Peppers

We've all had stuffed peppers before. For my wedding the vegetarian entree choice was stuffed green peppers. This is a different version and it is so good! Tonight I prepared a meal that I've made once before. I found this recipe while flipping through one of my Mother-in-Law's cookbooks while I was sick in bed one day. This is a vegetarian meal that the whole family can eat. I've adapted this recipe since the original version calls for bacon and olives - two unnecessary ingredients. I'll include them as an option and you can decide to use them or not. It also calls for mozzarella. I used regular mozzarella the first time I made this, but this time I decided to kick it up a notch and substitute smoked mozzarella. It was a great call; Just the boost it needed. The recipe serves 4, but here's my recommendation...one stuffed pepper per person if serving with a salad or other side, one and a half to two per person if you aren't serving a side dish. Use any color pepper you want. They all taste great. If you have larger peppers, use a little extra macaroni and/or mozzarella when preparing the ingredients. If you have a little extra of the mixture left over, just stuff a bit more into the peppers.

My husband and I gave this recipe a big thumbs up! Tasty, flavorful, colorful, filling. It doesn't get any better. This would be a great way to use fresh, local produce and easy enough to feed a crowd. I served mine standing up as shown in the photo, but you could cut the peppers in half length-wide and stuff them for a different appearance and to make them easier to serve a larger crowd. My preschooler thought it was edible if eaten with a blueberry for each bite. Eh, whatever it takes, right?

Ingredients

6 slices of bacon, chopped (optional)
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups organic crushed canned tomatoes
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup uncooked macaroni noodles
1 cup smoked mozzarella, small diced
12 olives, pitted & thinly sliced (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
EVOO

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F. Lightly spray an 8" oval or square baking dish.
2. Cook bacon and drain, keeping bacon fat. Add onions to the bacon fat and saute for 5 minutes. Pour off any excess fat.
-If making the vegetarian version, just saute onions in EVOO for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes and pepper flakes. Cook over medium-high to high heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta. Put pasta in mixing bowl, (add bacon), tomato sauce, mozzarella (and olives). Toss to mix. Season with S&P to taste.
5. Cut stem off each pepper and reserve "lids". Remove seeds and ribs.
6. Divide pasta mix evenly among peppers. Put "lids" on. Brush peppers all over with EVOO and set in baking dish.
7. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until peppers are tender, 25-35 minutes longer.