Stuffed Peppers

Certain foods will always bring back childhood memories; for me, my mother's pepper stuffing was passed along by one of her friends. I took it and tweaked it from pepper stuffing to stuffed sweet peppers. Both recipes are fantastic and use the same ingredients, but I prefer the mini stuffed peppers for company, mainly to serve as an appetizer.

Time to gather your ingredients!

Mini sweet peppers (1 to 2 bags ~ approximately 24 to 30 peppers)

1 16 oz can of black olives and olive juice

1 16 oz can petite diced tomatoes

Italian-style breadcrumbs

Olive oil

Optional Ingredients - Highly Recommended

Sliced pepperoni

Capers

Get Set! Let's Go!

Are you ready to prep the ingredients? I recommend getting all of your chopping done before starting.

Olives: You will need about 1/2 of the olive juice in the can, so set aside. You will use this to moisten the breadcrumbs later. Chop into small slices. I will not fault you if you buy the olives already sliced. I do this when I am cooking for a large group.

Sliced Pepperoni (regular or turkey): I usually cut about 20 slices of small pepperoni into small strips for this size recipe. About 5 strips per slice.

Capers: I love to add these to the recipe but vary the amount when I make this. I like to add about 8 to 10 capers with a teaspoon of the brine. I crush them up so the flavor isn't too concentrated.

Peppers: After you rinse the peppers, cut off the top of the pepper and scoop out the seeds inside. These peppers are small, so a gentle hand is required to remove the seeds.

Time to Fry!

Grab your favorite frypan and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. The goal here is to fry the peppers just enough so that they are seared on the outside, giving an excellent fried pepper taste, but not too much, so they are mushy and will break apart when you stuff them. Whew!

WARNING: Don't over-fry the peppers!

They should look like the example below. A bit seared and yummy! You can set these aside while you assemble the stuffing.

Ready set! Blend!

It is time to grab your favorite mixing bowl and gather the breadcrumbs, chopped olives, diced tomatoes, pepperoni, and capers.

This is the fun part.

Mix 3 cups of breadcrumbs, olives, diced tomatoes (the entire can ~ the tomato juice will help keep the breadcrumbs moist), pepperoni, capers, and 1 teaspoon (or to taste).

Start by adding 1/4 of the olive juice and about 1/2 cup of olive oil. Mix well until all of the ingredients are coated. If the mixture is too dry, you can add a bit more olive oil or 1/4 cup of water.

At this point, I usually taste it to ensure it isn't too salty or dry and that all the flavors are melded together and tweaked accordingly.

Get Ready! Stuff!

Set oven to 350F.

By now, your peppers should be sufficiently cooled for you to handle and stuff. Stuff each pepper and arrange in a glass pie plate so the peppers stand up slightly.

Place the plate in the oven and bake for twenty minutes or until golden brown. Your peppers should be nice and soft, the stuffing crispy on the outside and moist. They should look something like the ones below.

I love these little peppers. They are great for appetizers or a fun and colorful side dish. If you don't want to stuff them and would love the same flavors, here is the variation for you!

Tight on Time! Try this variation! Pepper Stuffing

Make your stuffing as noted above. Instead of stuffing the mini peppers, use two washed large peppers and cut them into 1-inch squares. Blend into the stuffing and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, to form a nice crust on top, leaving the stuffing moist below.

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