RECIPES: Chicken Parmesan Peppers and Tomato Beef Peppers

I'll confess: I'm addicted to the stuffed pepper dinner (or lunch, or breakfast) for a variety of reasons. Other than yumminess, I love the portion-sized convenience of it. I love a ready-made container that I can eat. I love that, with few exceptions, I can make them with all Power Foods. I love that they're freezable and nuke-able and that I can make them in large batches that will last for days. They're cheap to make for the number of servings I get. And that I sneak in vegetables without minding all that much! I'm even thinking about some venison peppers later on. (Brandon's dad sent fresh venison our way this hunting-holiday season!) Also considering making some deer jerky, if I can bring myself to it. :) Don't know how the leanest meat in KY will taste in a stuffed pepper, but I should be able to come up with something...

CHICKEN PARMESAN STUFFED PEPPERS:

UPDATE: A pic, in my lunch container!

2 Red (or other color) Bell Peppers, prepared and slit vertically
1 lb Chicken Breast, cut into 1in cubes
1 c Pizza sauce (low sodium, if you can)
1/4 to 1 whole small onion, sliced vertically into thin strips
2 tbs Olive oil
Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder
4 slices Mozzarella cheese, fat free or low fat
Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup chopped pepperoni (optional, depending on points allowances)

Preheat oven to 350. Gut and rinse Bell Pepper halves and arrange in casserole dish. If you don't use glass, line the pan with foil. If your peppers won't stand up, prop them with small rolls of aluminum foil. Cram 1 slice fat free mozzarella cheese or 1/4 cup shredded cheese in pepper. Heat oil in pan on medium heat. Cover chicken in pan until sizzling. Pan fry chicken in olive oil, stirring frequently after the first few minutes. When chicken is done, add pizza sauce and stir. Then throw in onion, pepperoni and spices, stir. When sauce is hot and thickened, turn off heat. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spoon high into peppers, pressing down with the back of the spoon. Pour in water bath halfway up the sides of the pepper for even baking. Add some salt to the water bath. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350. When peppers wrinkle at the tops, they're soft and done!

NOTE: I didn't freeze these. They were just too good. Plus, I didn't know how the chicken and sauce would hold up in the freezer. I didn't want to mess up the texture. If you try freezing them, maybe add more sauce to keep the chicken from drying out in the process.

UPDATE: Unfrozen, just nuke for 4 minutes. Sprinkle some Parmesan on top first.

NOTE 2: Points, spread across 4 servings, are negligible.

TOMATO BEEF STUFFED PEPPERS

4 Bell Peppers, cleaned and halved as above
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can Rotel, drained (mild to hot... whatever you want!)
1 can Tomato sauce
1 small onion, roughly chopped
Italian seasoning and seasoned salt
1/2 cup crushed crackers
3 tbs ketchup
Salt

Preheat oven to 350. Gut and rinse Bell Pepper halves and arrange in casserole dish. If you don't use glass, line the pan with foil. If your peppers won't stand up, prop them with small rolls of aluminum foil. Cram 1 slice fat free mozzarella cheese or 1/4 cup shredded cheese in pepper. Combine all other ingredients with your hands in a large bowl, making sure that beef is thoroughly broken up and integrated. Mixture will be very soupy compared to my other recipes because of the amount of tomato products. Split beef mixture among all peppers, pressing into all nooks and crannies. I just used my already-icky hands. Pour in water bath halfway up the sides of the pepper for even baking. Add some salt to the water bath. Bake for 1.5 hours at 350. Pepper edges should be wrinkly and cut easily with a fork.

NOTE: FREEZING: I didn't freeze these, because they're lunch for work this week. But if you do... Remove from water bath and cool at room temperature. Wrap completely in aluminum foil. Then refrigerate for an hour or more. Place in freezer bags and freeze. I can place several peppers in a gallon-sized bag and just grab what I need. REHEATING: If frozen, microwave on HIGH for 5-7 minutes. If not frozen, microwave on HIGH 3-4 minutes.

NOTE 2: Points, spread across 8 servings, are negligible. I actually only made four pepper halves out of this recipe, intended to buy more peppers and didn't, and ended up wasting a little under half the mixture. Shame on me!