Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 diced yellow onion
5-6 diced carrots
6-8 diced celery stalks
1 lb of italian gluten free chicken sausage removed from their casing
1-2 lbs of grass fed ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes
5-6 bell peppers (I like the red and yellow ones the best for these but green is good too)
dried oregano, big bunch of chopped fresh basil or dried basil, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper to taste
One or two big squirts of Sriracha hot sauce (if you want to have them not spicy, these are great without the hot sauce)

Preheat oven to 350. Place one big soup pot filled with water and turn on high to bring to a boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, cover the bottom of another big soup pot with a lot of olive oil and over medium heat toss in the the onion, celery, and carrots. Crumble in the sausage and ground beef and add the dried seasonings to the meat BEFORE it’s entirely cooked. Mix well and let the meat and veggies cook over medium low heat stirring occasionally. In the meantime, remove just the tops of the bell peppers, and rinse well to remove all the seeds. By now your water should be boiling. Place the bell peppers gently in the boiling water and submerge them for 5-6 minutes or until the bell peppers are just a little soft but NOT falling apart. While the bell peppers are boiling, add the can of tomatoes to the meat mixture and bring to a simmer. Pull the bell peppers out of the water with tongs and arrange in a large baking dish. Fill each bell pepper with the meat mixture (don’t be shy, stuff em’ good!) and bake in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.

Number of Servings: 5

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user MPMACKEN.