These are good, I mean really good.  Oh, and did I mention easy?!  Beyond easy.  Ooh ooh, and versatile!  Ok, I’ll stop now.  Just take a look at this deliciousness and try it for yourself.

Pick up some delicious peppers at the market.  I chose sweet cubanelle peppers this time.  But I have also used fresh banana peppers (sometimes I even grow them myself) or poblano peppers (also sweeter and mild with more of a Spanish flavor).  But you could go spicy and substitute a hot cubanelle or banana pepper, too.  It all depends on the heat you can handle.

Next you need sausage.  There is something about Italian sausage that just can’t compare to straight up ground beef.  It may be the pork, it may be the spices, it’s just…necessary.  Again, I choose sweet and mild but if you wanted a contrast, you could do mild peppers and spicy sausage or spicy peppers and mild sausage.  It is your game!  Choose wisely.  🙂

And now you need some sauce and cheese.  That’s it!  You could make your own sauce or just keep it simple and use a store-bought jar.  My favorite is Mid’s meatless sauce.  I don’t know when I discovered Mid’s but I swear it was at Marc’s (a local very cheap grocery store), and I was hooked.  I really can’t use Ragu or Prego or anything else at this point.  Marc’s sells it as does my favorite grocery store, Heinen’s.  And they are a local company from Navarre, Ohio.

As far as cheese, really anything goes.  To keep it on the Italian side, I normally use mozzarella, but we are championing versatility, right?  How about poblano peppers, with Mexican 3-blend cheese shreds, and andouille sausage, WHOA!  That just came to me, right here, right now and I’m totally trying that next time.

But that’s it, folks.  Ratios are flexible and not a science – this is cooking, not baking after all, so have fun with it.  I usually buy 4 larger peppers, 1 lb sausage, 1 cup sauce, and 1 cup cheese and that’s a main meal for me and the hubby or an appetizer to share with 4 people.  Here’s the 411…

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large sweet cubanelle peppers
• 1 lb sweet and mild Italian sausage, ground
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese

STEPS:

1.   Preheat oven to 350F.
2.   Cut a horizontal slice right below the tops of the peppers but not all the way through.  Cut a vertical slice the length of the peppers but not all the way through.  Open and remove seeds and membranes.
3.   Mix the sausage, half the cheese, and half the sauce.
4.   Place peppers in a 13×9 pan.
5.   Stuff the peppers (just use your hands, baby!), each with a quarter of the sausage mixture.
6.   Pour the remaining sauce over the peppers.
7.   Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 50 minutes.
8.   Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake another 10 minutes or until golden brown.

EAT!  MANGIA!  Enjoy.  🙂