Cheesy Sausage & Corn Stuffed Mini Peppers

It is harvest crunch time in middle America … when all of us with gardens and plants outside that we want to keep are fervently watching the weather to make sure our precious harvest doesn’t carelessly go to waste.

I recently ran up to visit my parents. It was a quick trip, but they mentioned that frost was coming on Tuesday and everything needed to be picked. I took a whole bunch of their mini sweet peppers, leaving a good bunch for their own “last harvest” enjoyment, but taking the excess that I knew they wouldn’t be able to use …

… and then, there I was, with a whole big bunch of these gorgeous, colorful mini sweet peppers … and what to do with them? Of course one of the things I made just HAD to be stuffed peppers. It’s been a while since I stuffed any mini peppers and I’ve discovered a much easier method for it. Just cut your peppers lengthwise and fill the halves. Super easy!

I shared this with my yoga friends and we all enjoyed them immensely. I used some of my dad’s venison sausage, but you can use any loose uncooked sausage that you like. You can reduce the calories by choosing a lower fat sausage such as chicken or turkey sausage.

Sausage & Corn Stuffed Mini Peppers

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 20 - 24 stuffed mini pepper halves 1x

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Ingredients

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For the stuffing:

• 1/2 lb. lean sausage meat
• 1 small onion, peeled & chopped fine
• 2 – 3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped fine
• 1 mini sweet pepper, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
• 2 – 3 Tablespoons salsa (I used my cilantro almond salsa-recipe here)
• 1 egg, whisked

For the rest:

• 10 – 12 mini sweet peppers, sliced vertically
• Extra shredded Mexican cheese, for the top
• For garnish: fresh oregano or cilantro

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a baking sheet or individual oven-safe baking dishes with cooking spray.
2. Over medium heat on a medium non-stick frying pan, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through. Remove the sausage to a clean kitchen towel and drain off almost all of the excess fat, leaving just a thin coat on the pan. Add the onion, garlic and sweet pepper and cook until the onion is tender and translucent, stirring frequently.
3. Turn off the heat. Stir in the shredded cheese, corn, oregano, salsa and egg until well mixed.
4. Spoon the mixture into the mini sweet pepper halves, pressing gently to compress the stuffing. Set each pepper on the baking sheet (it’s all right if they are side by side) and sprinkle with a bit more shredded cheese
5. Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes. Let set for a few minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh oregano or cilantro if desired.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2016, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

This recipe was shared at Gluten Free Friday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friends Friday and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.