Stuffed Mini Peppers

My friend Johnny hosted a Packer pre-game party at his new home. The menu included a delicious spread of snacks...

That's my bottle of Schlitz. Because it was 1973 that day.

... and prominently featured his signature homemade Reuben sandwich with pretzel rolls from Clasen's Bakery in Middleton.

Sweet mustard baby Jesus, those were amazing.

Not all attendees at the party eat meat, however, so my friend and I chose to bring a vegetarian appetizer alternative. The Saturday before the party, he and I concocted this recipe while watching the Badgers stomp all over their opponent. It was a good weekend to be a Wisconsin football fan. (Every weekend is.)

recipe for stuffed peppers

the damages
chef's knife
cutting board
nonstick skillet
wooden spatula or long-handled spoon
cheese grater
gallon-sized Ziploc bag
kitchen shears or clean scissors
cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
serving tray

the ingredients
1lb of sweet mini bell peppers* (select those on the larger side)
pint of sliced baby portobella mushrooms
1/2 medium yellow or white onion
1 medium eggplant
olive oil
1 can of diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 cup cooked brown rice**
1/2c grated Parmesan cheese

the preparation
Preheat your oven to 400F. Rinse the produced and allow to air-dry. Use the knife and cutting board to

• remove pepper tops; set the peppers aside, disposing of the tops
• dice the mushroom, onion, and eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes and saute on medium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil

Oooooh yeah. So sexy.

When the mushroom, onion, and eggplant sufficiently browned and soft, add the can of diced tomato and stir continuously for about five minutes or until the mixture thickens.

Turn off the heat. Add the grated Parmesan cheese to the thickened vegetable mixture. Stir the ingredients together and taste. Since the cheese adds salt, this is a good time to adjust the seasonings, so add a little salt, if you want.

Add the cooked brown rice and stir everything together.

Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes while you have a beer or cup of coffee, depending on the time of day (or not...). Once it's not too hot to handle, use your wooden spoon/spatula to load up the 1-gallon Ziploc baggie with about 2 cups of the mixture. Press the air out of the baggies and seal it up. Use the kitchen shears to snip off a bottom corner of the baggie so that you have a hole about 3/4 of an inch in diameter.

Retrieve your decapitated peppers and, like you would while using a pastry bag to ice a cake, pipe the mixture into your mini pepper. Start with the tip of the baggie near the inside bottom of the pepper, and as you're squeezing, bring the bag back out of the pepper. This ensures maximum fillingness. Don't overfill, though.

Repeat this process for each pepper, laying the stuffed peppers in rows on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until the peppers are just soft, meaning they're cooked through without becoming soggy.

Notice there appears to be one missing near the top right corner. Huh.

Lay the stuffed peppers out on your serving tray and serve at room-temperature to a happy crowd of Packer fans.

Who didn't photograph the final product? This girl. Whoops.

tips and techniques
When sauteing eggplant and mushrooms, wait till they're fully cooked to add salt. Otherwise, the salt causes this type of vegetable to release water, instead of browning properly. Remember, brown food is good food.

*every time I visit Costco, these are available for about $2/lb
** this product is also available at Costco; because it takes over an hour to cook, I prepare and store about 10 cups at a time