Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Ground Beef and Zucchini

Stuffed peppers are a great way to get creative with ground meat and vegetables you may have on-hand. If you don't have zucchini, you could substitute eggplant, squash, or mushrooms - whatever you like. You can also make these a few days ahead, store in the refrigerator, and add the breadcrumbs right before baking. You can enjoy these stuffed peppers solo for a nice light lunch or appetizer. Or serve them with salad, rice, or some additional filling to make a heartier meal. 

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 min
Baking time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Difficulty: easy

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Grass Roots pasture-raised ground beef (or ground pork, ground chicken, ground lamb, ground bison or ground turkey)
8 cubanelle peppers (small bell peppers or poblanos will work as well)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 small zucchini, trimmed and diced
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp dried dill

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the tops off of each of the peppers, remove and discard seeds, and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl add the beef, garlic, zucchini, cheese, breadcrumbs, oil, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
3. Stuff each pepper with an equal portion of the beef mixture and place in an oven-proof baking dish.
4. Sprinkle the tomatoes and dill over the top and add about ¼ cup of water to the bottom of the dish. Cover with foil and bake for about 60 minutes or until the peppers are soft and the beef is thoroughly cooked.


Nutritional facts:
Amount per serving
Calories 368
Total Fat 15.5g
Saturated Fat 5.9g
Cholesterol 71mg
Sodium 1064mg
Total Carbohydrate 30.1g
Dietary Fiber 4.4g
Total Sugars 12.8g
Protein 30.8g