Food inside Food

I am a BIG fan of the whole food inside food concept. Cream puffs, taco salads, soup in a bread bowl... you get the picture.  Stuffed bell peppers is new to my list because I am not a big pepper person. I would normally avoid peppers on salads, as a side, with fajitas, whatever you normally eat peppers with. But for some reason, with this recipe, I love them! 

Stuffed Bell Peppers (adapted from Kayln's Kitchen) 1 cup long grain brown rice 4 large peppers (we prefer red) 1 large onion, diced 2 tsp + 1 tsp EVOO 2 links of Italian sausage ( we have used ground turkey and mushrooms for replacements before, so use whatever you would prefer) 1/2 tsp ground fennel 1/2 tsp oregano 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese Pre heat oven to 375 cook brown rice according to instructions Slice top off of bell peppers remove seeds dice the top that you removed trim bottom so pepper can stand on its own place hollowed out peppers into baking dish that has been sprayed or oiled heat 2 tsp EVOO in skillet add diced bell pepper and onion saute 2-3 minuted until softened but not brown remove onion/pepper mixture add italian sausage to skillet removed from casing break up with spoon as it cooks saute until lightly browned add pepper and onion mixture  add dry spice mixture cook 2-3 minutes to blend flavors add cooked rice and parmesan season with salt and pepper stuff filling down in hollowed out peppers, remember to push it in tightly you can place extra filling in a ramekin and cook along side peppers place in oven bake 30-35 minutes remove from oven place generous pinch of mozzarella on each pepper place back in oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned serve warm