When The Bibbed Wonder and I were first married, we used to go on weekly dates. Every Saturday night, we would dine out, go to a movie, drink wine, smoke good cigars, and enjoy what is now called a charcuterie board. As with all relationships, things evolve, changes occur, and we change our behaviors. Once we became a family of three, we stayed in, watched cartoons, played games, and enjoyed being parents. The one thing we missed about our old life was dining out.
I took it upon myself to create some of our favorite dishes that we missed. My bib overall-wearing buddy always enjoyed Italian stuffed banana peppers from our favorite Italian restaurant. Often, I would make him stuffed banana peppers with pasta. Our baby loved pasta with butter and would use her chubby little fingers to pick up each slippery noodle carefully. She would stuff it in her little mouth and say, "MMMMMMMM" with every bit. Sigh, I miss those days. However, I digress. Today, I thought I would share my sausage stuffed banana peppers recipe.
The produce is plentiful at The Ligonier Country Market. I picked up a half dozen beautiful sweet banana peppers from Jeff's Produce. We have freezers filled with pasture-raised pork, eggs from my hens, and herbs from my garden. However, I do not have any home-canned spaghetti sauce. I plan to can spaghetti sauce after The Shaker Woods Festival, if time allows. I have found that I quite enjoy Luigi's Spaghetti Sauce when I don't have home canned in stock. However, your favorite sauce will work fine for this recipe. Again, I resort to using my crock pot because it is convenient. However, the peppers can also be baked in an oven for an hour or so. This recipe is very versatile.
Sausage Stuffed Banana Peppers
Ingredients:
-6 or 8 Sweet Banana Peppers
-2 lbs. Loose, Sweet Italian Sausage
-2 Eggs
-1 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
-1 TBLS. Italian Seasoning
-1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
-1 tsp. Minced Garlic
-1 Quart Spaghetti Sauce
Directions:
-Wash, top, and seed the banana peppers. I like to split them lengthwise to stuff them.
-Mix the sausage, eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, and spices in a large bowl. Mix well.
-Prepare a crockpot insert or baking dish with olive oil.
-Stuff the sausage mixture into the peppers so they are full but not overflowing.
Place the stuffed peppers in the prepared dish. Cover with the spaghetti sauce, covering with a lid or foil. If using the crock pot, cook on low for six hours. If baking in the oven, bake for one hour at 375 degrees.
I like to serve the stuffed peppers with pasta, salad, and garlic bread. I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe as much as we do. On this beautifully rainy day, stay safe, be smart, enjoy simple, delicious food, and keep washing your hands.
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