Stuffed Pepper Casserole

I can't tell you how many times I have made stuffed peppers in the past 6 years. Way more times then I can count. And every time I made them it's because Nick requested them and I begrudgingly agree. I actually highly dislike making stuffed peppers. First of all, they can be a lot of work. Second, peppers tend to give me indigestion so I never feel great after eating them. Third, I can never organize my "filling to pepper" ratio and always end up with a huge pile of leftover stuffing and no pepper to fill. All together, not my favorite thing to make.

Cue to last weekend when I ask Nick for input on this week's menu and of course...what does he request?...Stuffed peppers. As I added it to the list something struck me - why couldn't I turn it into a casserole instead of having to prep the peppers to be filled (which sucks a little piece of my soul every time I do it)? SO I DID! AND IT WORKED! Nick even proclaimed these to be better then regular stuffed peppers (!!!!!) so you know it was good! Next time I would bake in a longer/flatter dish so that the peppers and cheese would be more evenly distributed - there was a lot of filling and not a ton of the good stuff on top ;) Otherwise this has totally restored my faith in stuffed peppers! Or at least a "pepper and stuffing" type of dish! Never stuffing peppers again, HALLELUJAH!

The other nice thing about this dish is it's easy to take in different directions. Add some taco seasoning, corn and black beans and you've got South West. Would be great topped with sour cream, salsa or guac! Could also take it more of an Asian route with teriyaki sauce, sans cheese. So many options!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound extra lean ground chicken (could use any ground meat you want though)
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 diced onion
• 1 diced zucchini
• 2 peppers (color of your preference) diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (cheddar would work well also)

Directions:

1. Cook your rice according to package directions. Chop all veggies.
2. Saute ground chicken in a nonstick pan until fully cooked, season with salt and pepper. 
3. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add onions and zucchini to the pan. Saute over medium-high until onions are slightly translucent and zucchini is browned. Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Combine veggies, chicken rice and tomato sauce and mix until evenly distributed. Add to a baking dish.
5. Cover mixture with diced peppers and top with cheese. Bake covered on 375 for 35-30 minutes until peppers are tender. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly.