Stuffed Peppers... a dinner gathering favorite

If there's one thing that I LIVE for... it's having people over for dinner. I love showing off what I can do in the kitchen. I love cooking for people; the look on their faces when they take the first bite, the complaints of a full belly after because they ate too much, and the silence during dinner because everyone is too busy eating to say anything other than "mmmm" and "this is soooo good." Yeah, I love it.

We're having some dear friends over tonight, and I wanted to make them something that was healthy, but delicious. So I went with hubby's favorite, Stuffed Peppers. The thing I love about stuffed peppers? You can fill them with ANYTHING your little tummy desires. The following is what I'm doing this evening... a little Italian flair, but you really can do whatever you want. So have some people over, bond over awesome food, and enjoy!

Shopping List:
Green bell peppers (I use these because they're cheapest, you can use other colors for a sweeter flavor)
Italian Sausage (mild, hot, whatever you want)
Olive Oil
Rice
Onion
Garlic
Canned tomatoes (one less thing to do, we used Italian style)
Basil
Cheese
Ritz Crackers (yes, Ritz only)
Butter

Recipe:
6 bell peppers, tops off and cleaned out
1 lb Italian sausage
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
4 leaves basil, finely chopped
1 c rice, cooked
1/4c cheese
1-1.5 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
3-4 Tbsp butter, melted.


Brown and drain sausage in large skillet. In smaller pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and heat until warmed through. Combine sausage, onion/garlic/tomato mixture, cooked rice, and basil in a large bowl. Place peppers in a baking pan, and fill with mixture. Place about 1 tbsp cheese on top. In small bowl, combine crackers and melted butter. Mix until crackers are coated, and top peppers with cracker mix. Fill bottom of baking pan with about 1/4 in of water. Bake at 450 degrees for about 30 - 35 minutes or until peppers are done.



* We're serving this with a salad and french bread. Mmmmm. Enjoy!!!