cajun spiced stuffed golden peppers

Prawn

Cajun Spiced Stuffed Golden Peppers

My hubby asked if I'd fix Stuffed Peppers one night, and I agreed. I started looking for just the right peppers to use: big, bright, crispy and very firm & fresh. I came upon these huge golden-orange peppers at a local flea market and they inspired me to do something different with this well-loved dish. I find stuffed green peppers a bit strongly flavored and wanted to go for a different taste, so I chose a Cajun style version that I'd been thinking of for a while, and it turned out absolutely perfect! The second photo shows the plate with the complete meal--the braised butternut squash recipe and the potato recipe are also included in my Recipes section! Please do comment and let me know how they turned out for you!

Ingredients

6 very large golden or orange bell peppers
1 lb/pkg of hot italian sausage
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup cooked shrimp (peeled, deveined, no tail--frozen)
1 onion chopped
2 stalks celery with the leaves, chopped
tops cut from the bell peppers, chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup cooked spinach
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
paprika to sprinkle on top
salt n' pepper to taste

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 400 degrees.Start a large pot to boil, add a TBSP salt. Cut the tops off the 6 bell peppers and set aside. Drop them 3 at a time into the boiling water for NO MORE THAN 4 minutes. Drain after blanching, run cold water over them, cut out the seeds and middle and toss away, then turn peppers upside down on a towel to dry.
Add the olive oil to a large skillet and let it start heating. Cut the 5-6 sausages in the pack, into small pieces/slices, then toss in the skillet with the garlic, onion, chopped peppers, and celery, stir fry gently until nearly done, about 10 minutes, on medium heat.
Add a half cup of warm water to the pan and add the rice--then fold it into the vegie-sausage mix. Add the chicken and the frozen (cooked) shrimp (I use 'small'), then sprinkle the red pepper flakes, Old Bay Seasoning/Tchatcher, and then the salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low to let the rice and other items soak up the water and the flavors--about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.
Spay a long glass baking dish with butter spray, then add a 1/4 inch of water. Salt the inside of each bell pepper, stuff with meat-vegie filling, sprinkle with paprika and place carefully into the baking dish. Bake on 400 for 30 minutes, then on 350 for 20 minutes. Peppers should be tender and the filling juicy. Good served with Herb-Roasted Onion-Stuffed Potatoes and Cumin-Spiced Butternut Stirfry (see my Recipes here).