Spooky Dinner Idea: Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers

I love a stuffed pepper! There are so many different options for fillings, and they are also so easy to put together for an easy and nutritious weeknight dinner. I am loving taking an everyday dinner idea and adding a spooky spin on it as well. These orange peppers have a little jack-o-lantern face “carved” into them before putting them into the oven, and I love those sweet little touches that make dinner a little more special! The filling I’ve gone for is hearty, perfect for some energy before you hit the neighborhoods for trick-or-treating! Check out the recipe below!

This recipe could easily be made vegetarian, replacing the ground meat with beans. This is also a recipe where you can throw in any veggies you need to use up that are in the refrigerator, they are all interchangeable! My recipe today can fill more than 4 peppers, but I keep the extra filling in the fridge for an easy dinner later in the week! All I have to do is prepare a pepper, fill it, and put it in the oven with some cheese!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or beef
1/4 of a very large onion of your choice or half of a medium onion of your choice, chopped (I used a red onion and a little leek I had left over)
3 stalks of celery chopped
1 zucchini quartered and then cut into little pie pieces (optional, you could also shred it!)
1/2 a container of sliced mushrooms, diced into smaller pieces
2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 package of frozen spinach
1/2 package of frozen peas
salt & pepper
1 TBSP dried oregano
Olive oil
4-8 orange bell peppers (however many people you are feeding) – I filled a green bell pepper that needed to be used as well
Shredded Mozzarella

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Sauté the onion and celery in olive oil until softened. Add the mushrooms, zucchini and some salt and pepper until the juices are drawn out of them and have cooked off a bit.
While that is cooking down, prepare your peppers. Slice the “lid” off and put aside. Remove all the seeds and any of the white membrane you can from the inside of the pepper. Then, with a small paring knife, carefully carve your little jack-o-lantern faces into one side of the pepper.
Add the spinach, peas, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and dried oregano. Stir to combine and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes for the flavors to meld. This is a great time to taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Remove filling mixture from the heat and fill each pepper to the top. Add some shredded mozzarella to the top and replace your “lid” on top. Place into a baking dish that will allow the peppers to stand. Repeat for each pepper.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the lids begin to take on some golden coloring.
If you have filling leftover, store it in the fridge for easy dinners later in the week, I think it would be delicious over a baked potato or served over rice, or for more stuffed peppers!