Stuffed Banana Peppers

One of the things I love the most about having our own garden, is having fresh ingredients right at my finger tips. We love growing a variety of different peppers, and then using them in as many different ways as possible. We stuff them, we top burgers with them, we grill them, we make them into pepper jelly, etc.

My favorite, easy, go-to recipe is stuffed banana peppers. They can be served as an appetizer or when plated with salad and bread, they make a fabulous meal.

Stuffed Banana Peppers

Ingredients:

8-10 banana peppers (depending on size)

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I usually use turkey sausage)

2 eggs

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 TBS Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tops off of peppers, then cut them in half length wise. Remove seeds and ribs.

In a large bowl, combine sausage, eggs, breadcrumbs,  garlic, Italian seasoning, and half of the Parmesan cheese.

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of dish with half of the marinara sauce.

Fill a large Ziplock bag with sausage mixture, and cut the tip off of the corner of the bag, to use like a piping bag.

Pipe sausage mixture into each pepper. Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.

Cover dish with tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is slightly golden brown.