Recipe: Italian-style Stuffed Bellpeppers

So, getting David and Emily to eat their veggies is always a little bit of a challenge and you all know what a huge fan of "hiding" veggies in their food that I am so, it's no surprise a recipe that uses beef, pasta and hidden zucchini would immediately catch my eye!  ;)  I found a recipe for Stuffed Peppers on FoodNetwork's website but loved Giada's version most because it had an Italian Twist, which my husband and daughter are huge fans of!  I adapted her recipe a bit after making it a couple of times and feel I have perfected it for my family.  I hope you love it as much as we do!

P.S. I make this when Bell Peppers are on sale for $0.99 as we only eat the filling inside and toss the peppers out, such a shame but it is what it is.  Just a tip in case you aren't a fan of bell peppers either!  :)

Recipe: Italian-style Stuffed Bell Peppers

4 bell peppers, any color you like
2 Cups chicken broth
3/4 Cups Orzo pasta
1/2lb - 1lb ground sirloin (any ground beef will do and as much as you have on hand!)
1/4 Cup minced onion
14oz crushed tomatoes
1 Zucchini, grated (I use my food processer to shred it like cheese)
1/2 Cup grated Pecarino-Romano cheese (or Parmesan)
2 teaspoons crushed garlic (or 2-3 garlic cloves finely minced)
1 teaspoon dried Oregano
1 tablespoon dried Basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil and stir in Orzo pasta, cook for 7 minutes, pasta will still be firm.  Use a cheese cloth and super fine mesh strainer to strain pasta from broth BUT RESERVE THE BROTH!!!  Set aside to let cool.

In a skillet, brown ground beef until almost cooked through, about 8-10 minutes over Medium-High heat then, and add onion.  Cook for 3-5 additional minutes until onion is opaque and beef is cooked through.  Set aside to let cool.

In a large bowl, combine, tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, cheese, Oregano, Basil, salt & pepper.  Add in Orzo pasta and cooled ground beef mixture and mix well.  Taste, adding additional salt & pepper as desired.

Cut tops off the bell peppers and remove all seeds and white ribs.  Set in a baking dish and fill with beef mixture.  Set baking dish in the oven and pour reserved chicken broth into the bottom of the dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired and bake uncovered another 15 minutes.