I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in the commercials during the Super Bowl last night. I was NOT disappointed in the good eats we had, however! These stuffed cherry peppers were a hit! The recipe comes from my mother-in-law, and they make a regular appearance at family gatherings, and there are rarely any leftover!
The recipe is pretty simple. They’re just a simple meatball mixture stuffed inside hot cherry peppers, topped with some marinara sauce and cheese. We prefer ours with a good kick, so we choose to leave the seeds in the peppers. If you aren’t one to enjoy the feel of fire in your mouth, feel free to take the seeds out. I have found a baby spoon is the perfect size to scoop them out of the little peppers.
You’ll likely have some meatball mixture left over, and you w0n’t need all of your marinara sauce. Aren’t I nice, you have tomorrow’s dinner already prepped! You’re welcome!
STUFFED CHERRY PEPPERS (makes approximately 2 dozen1/4 pound ground beef
1/4 pound hot italian sausage, casing removed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 TBS finely chopped onion
3 TBS breadcrumbs
2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
2 TBS milk
1 TBS ketchup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 jar hot cherry peppers (~24 peppers) tops cut off, seeds removed (or left in if you like it spicier)
1 jar marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 400. Combine first 10 ingredients (through pepper) in a mixing bowl. Mix gently until combined. Fill each cherry pepper with meatball mixture. Arrange peppers in baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with marinara sauce and bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and return to oven until cheese is bubbly.
simmer & savor 