A's Cheesy Rice and Chicken Stuffed Peppers!!

I am very, very, very excited about the recipe I am going to share with you... this is the first time I really felt like I could cook because I sort of made this up on my own.

Granted...I did take 2 recipes and modify them but I took elements of each and had to figure out new measurements on my own to make a dish. AND IT WORKED!!

Let me start at the beginning... my husband and I were at a Farmer's Market last weekend and saw these odd looking peppers. They were green and big like a bell pepper, but didn't look like a bell pepper. They were round and had ridges, almost like a little green pumpkin. I asked what they were...they are called "cheese peppers" (no real reason) and taste like a bell pepper. The woman then told me she liked this particular shape because they were really easy to make stuffed peppers with.


I was intrigued. I have never eaten a stuffed pepper in my life...and my husband really couldn't remember eating one either. We decided to buy the 3 for $1 and experiment. When I got home, I searched the Internet for stuffed pepper recipes. A lot of traditional recipes have tomato sauce and beef along with either rice or vegetables or whatever. But I came across one recipe that used ground turkey and no tomato sauce... and one that only used rice and cheese and was more vegetarian. I also found others using tofu or just vegetables but those two intrigued me the most.

So, I used their ideas but made my own. I used ground chicken, rice and cheese. (And a slew of other ingredients, but I'll get there). The result was seriously really, really good. My husband and I both fully enjoyed the recipe and I think this is going to become a regular in the household. TWO THUMBS UP!!

Here is what I used:
3 cheese peppers, tops and seeds removed
1/2 pound ground chicken
1 cup cooked rice (I used brown instant rice)
1 small onion, chopped
2.5 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Cook your rice and set aside.

In a large saucepan, cook peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; set aside.

In skillet, cook onions, garlic and chicken until chicken is pink - drain and set aside.

In the same skillet, melt butter and stir in flour, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning until smooth. Add milk and bring to boil. Stir until thicker.

Put chicken mixture back in the skillet and add tomato, feta cheese and rice - heat for a few minutes.

Spoon into peppers and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.


Place in greased baking dish and cover. Bake at 350 degrees F until peppers are tender and filling is hot - about 25 to 30 minutes.

The whole process took about an hour with all the chopping and cooking and baking. But it was so worth it!!

It's every easy to alter this recipe to use ingredients you like as well.

I also had leftover filling which we tried to bake as a "sloppy-joe" type burger. The filling was great on its own as well!!

Enjoy!