Banana Peppers/Hot Peppers

Here's a photo of our HOT peppers! The following recipes are for BANANA peppers. At Thursday pick up, several members inquired about recipes for the peppers. Here are several that sounded good. Let us know which one you made and how it tasted!

Heidi's Zucchini Soup
(from the Internet!)
1 # Italian sausage (Vegetarian or animal)
1 chopped onion
1c sliced celery
2c peppers (1 c bell pepper and 1c banana peppers) sliced
2 large chopped zucchini
1 tsp Italian seasoning or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2 (28 oz) cans tomatoes

Fry sliced Italian sausage with onions and drain. Add remaining ingredients and simmer at least 1 hour. May add cooked pasta if desired.

STUFFED BANANA PEPPERS #1

12 large sweet banana peppers
1 small tomato, finely chopped
1/ 2 cup finely chopped onion
1/ 4 cup finely chopped sweet pickle
1/ 4 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 small hot peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
12 slices bacon

Slit each banana pepper lengthwise and carefully remove seeds. Wash and set aside.
Combine next 8 ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.
Stuff each banana pepper with cheese mixture. Wrap a bacon slice diagonally around each stuffed pepper, securing well with a wooden pick.
Place peppers on a well-greased rack in broiler pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Serving suggestions: May be served with dill sauce, fresh tomato sauce or any sour cream sauce. Vegetarians can use soy bacon or no bacon.

Source: The Southern Heritage Vegetable Cookbook

STUFFED BANANA PEPPERS #2

INGREDIENTS:
8 banana peppers
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 (28 ounce) can crushed
tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground black
pepper, divided
1 egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
cheese
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1 pound mild Italian sausage
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut off tops of peppers, and remove ribs and seeds. Chop edible portions of tops; set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add peppers, reduce heat, and simmer until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat butter in a medium skillet. Saute reserved chopped pepper, onion and celery until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and garlic. Season with basil, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine egg, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan. Mix in sausage (meat or vegetarian ), bread crumbs and 1 cup of the tomato sauce mixture.
4. Using a piping bag or sausage stuffer, (or your fingers) fill each pepper with the meat mixture. Place in a 3 quart casserole dish, and pour remaining tomato sauce mixture over peppers.
5. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 1 hour.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2007 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 7/5/2007