Gluten Free, Grain Free Paleo Stuffed Peppers

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I have not eaten stuffed peppers in at least 5 years.  I ran into my mother in the supermarket and she had bell peppers in her cart to make some stuffed peppers and I immediately had to make them too!  Traditionally stuffed peppers have rice inside along with the meat and sauce, however, we are doing without grain lately so I had to fix that. I ended up using riced cauliflower instead. Another thing I did that is off the beaten path for me was to not look up a stuffed pepper recipe in my old Betty Crocker cookbook! Whenever I want to try and make something I have not made in such a long time Betty is my go to gal!  I decided, instead, that I would use my Bolognese Meat Sauce recipe and just make it with less tomato sauce. The dish turned out so flavorful and was a smashing hit.  The adults added extra topping to their pepper and the kids ate a half of pepper each.  The kids actually ended up digging the filling out and left the pepper shell behind.  I am still happy though, everyone ate and everyone was full with just one pepper.  This is a wonderful and complete meal.

Makes 6 Stuffed Peppers with enough for extra filling

Enough Oil to coat the pan.
1 pound Italian Mild Sausage
1 pound ground Beef
1 Onion, chopped
2-3 cloves Garlic
14 ounces Diced Tomatoes
12 ounces Contadina Tomato Paste
8 ounce can Sauce (plain, no sugar)
1 tablespoons Parsley
1 tablespoons Basil
1 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1 small head Cauliflower, riced
1 8 ounce can of sauce, (plain, no sugar)
6 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
6 Bell Peppers, tops removed and de-seeded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until browned. 
• Stir in tomato products and seasonings. 
• Simmer covered for 30 minutes until ingredients are fully combined.
• Add riced Cauliflower and stir to combine.  If mixture gets too thick add some water, but not much.  It should be thick like a stew.
• Stuff peppers with tomato/meat/cauliflower filling.
• Arrange peppers into a pan small enough to keep peppers upright.
• Top each pepper with extra can of sauce and a teaspoon of Italian Seasoning.
• Put a bit of hot water on the bottom of the baking dish, just a coating.
• Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until peppers are cooked though and soft.