Stuffed Peppers!

Sprouts has wonderful yellow, orange and red bell peppers right now.  Their sausage is very lean and these peppers are great!  You can use pasta, couscous or rice to fill these little darlin's . . .

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Extra Cheesy Stuffing with Sausage

2 cups shell macaroni (8 oz)                         2 cups (8 oz.) mozzarella, grated

8 bell peppers (yellow, orange, red and/or     3 oz. cream cheese, softened

  green) tops cut off & insides removed         ¾ cup (3 oz.) grated parmesan

1 lb. Italian sausage                                      ½ tsp. basil

2 jars (16 oz) spaghetti sauce                      salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°.  Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until al dente.  In large saucepan over medium heat, cook and crumble sausage until browned.  Drain.   In large bowl combine drained macaroni, cream cheese, mozzarella and half of the parmesan.  Mix to coat.  Add half of one jar of sauce to make coating look “pink”.  Pour other half of first jar of sauce in bottom of large baking pan.  Place peppers upright in pan.  Fill each pepper with macaroni and cheese stuffing (letting the filling overflow generously into pan).  Spoon second jar of sauce over peppers and sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.  Cover and bake 45 minutes.  Remove cover and bake 5 minutes more.  (Make sure peppers are soft before removing cover).  Serves 8.