Stuffed Peppers

I grew up eating stuffed peppers at least once a week when I was younger. I'm from an Italian family and my Dad was an amazing cook. I remember only eating the filling and not the pepper. Haha. Oh, to be young and carefree.

Now, as an adult, I know how beneficial pepper, well vegetables in general, are.

This is a summer pepper recipe and the original used ground turkey, but I had ground beef on hand so I used that instead. I also used fresh tomatoes instead of canned.
For the tomato paste, try getting it in a glass jar or tube so you can put the leftovers back in the refrigerator. I always hated transferring the rest of the tomato paste from the aluminum can.

Ingredients:
4 green bell peppers, tops removed and seeded
1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 cup fresh spinach
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 Tbs tomato paste
Italian seasoning, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground meat until evenly brown. Set aside.

• Heat oil and cook onion, mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, and spinach until tender.

• Return meat to skillet. Mix in tomatoes and tomato paste. 

• Add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

• Stuff the peppers with the skillet mixture.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes.