Leslie's Italian Stuffed Peppers

Threw this together as an experiment & it turned out pretty yummy!!  Hope you like!

Ingredients:

1# ground Italian sausage

2-3 bell peppers

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 C chopped cabbage

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

Small can tomato sauce

1 T Butter

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Start sausage browing in a skillet over medium heat & crumble as it cooks.

2. Meanwhile, cut bell pepper in half lengthwise & remove seeds. Place in a baking dish.

3. When sausage is cooked, set aside in a collander to drain well.

4. In the skillet, melt 1 T butter & saute onion, garlic & cabbage.  Add tomatoes & sauce, simmer to break down tomato chunks.  Season with an Italian blend if desired.

5. Return sausage to skillet & mix everything together.  

6. Spoon some into bell pepper halves, layer with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Stuff as much as you can in there & top with cheese.

7. Bake for about 30 minutes, until cheese is bubbly & browned on top.  Enjoy!  :)

Note:  I made about half this much for 2 pepper halves & had a little filling leftover.

Parmesan-crusted Chicken

I was craving fried chicken but I hate making it... too messy!  So I threw together this dish that went beyond satisfaction.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved & pounded out to about 1/2"
2 eggs, beaten
About 1/2 C grated Parmesan/Romano cheese blend
About 1/4 C flour
2 T butter
2 T EVOO
Salt & pepper

1. Prepare 1 bowl with the eggs & another bowl with the cheese & flour blended together.
2. Over medium heat, in a nonstick skillet, melt butter & blend in EVOO.
3. Salt & pepper chicken, dip in egg then coat each side with the cheese blend & into the pan.  Brown both sides until they're a nice golden color then remove to a baking sheet.
4. Finish off in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Kitchen note:  Pounding chicken tenderizes the meat and finishing in the oven rather than the stovetop gives you deliciously juicy results!