We’re pretty sure we could invent a stuffed pepper to fit our every mood—after all, they’re endlessly customizable with a range of meat, grains, veggies, and spices. For this twist on the Italian classic, we stir peppery Cajun spices into a deeply savory filling of pork sausage, celery, scallion, and jasmine rice. Once stuffed, the peppers are dressed with a sprinkle of melty pepper jack and a drizzle of hot sauce crema. One bite’s sure to put a little PEP in your step.
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
2 unit
Bell Pepper
2.5 ounce
Celery
2 unit
Scallions
9 ounce
Italian Pork Sausage
1 tablespoon
Cajun Spice Blend
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
½ cup
Pepper Jack Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Salt
Pepper
4 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
1 teaspoon
Olive Oil
1 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Melt 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add rice, 3⁄4 cup water (11⁄2 cups for 4), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to use in step 4. • Meanwhile, halve bell peppers lengthwise; remove stems and seeds.
• Place bell peppers on a baking sheet and drizzle each half with oil; rub to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange cut sides down. • Roast on middle rack until browned and softened, 18-20 minutes. • Meanwhile, finely dice celery. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens.
• Remove sausage* from casing; discard casing. • Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large, preferably ovenproof, pan over medium- high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned, 4-5 minutes. • Add celery and scallion whites; cook, stirring, until veggies are slightly softened and sausage is cooked through, 2-3 minutes. • Season with half the Cajun Spice (all for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30-60 seconds more.
• Add stock concentrate and 1⁄3 cup water (1⁄2 cup for 4 servings) to pan with sausage mixture; simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes. • Add cooked rice; stir until thoroughly combined. Turn off heat. • Once bell peppers are done, remove from oven. Carefully flip and stuff each half with as much filling as will fit. • Nestle stuffed peppers in pan with remaining filling. (TIP: If your pan isn’t ovenproof, transfer stuffed peppers and extra filling to a baking dish.) Evenly sprinkle with pepper jack.
• Bake stuffed peppers on middle rack until cheese melts, 3-4 minutes. • Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine sour cream with hot sauce to taste. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Divide remaining filling between plates and top with stuffed peppers. Drizzle with hot sauce crema and garnish with scallion greens. Serve with any remaining hot sauce on the side.