Harvested Mini Bell Peppers & Stuffed Mini Bell Pepper Recipe

Last I wrote the mini bell peppers were beginning to turn yellow and in anticipation of a harvest I had discovered a recipe for stuffed mini bell peppers. I was able to harvest some peppers and try out the recipe and now I'd like to share! I found the recipe at this blog. It's delicious! First of all I love all of the ingredients. It could even be made without the bacon for a vegetarian version and would be just as tasty. The feta gives it a nice saltiness so I don't think there is any culinary reason for the bacon in there. In other words, it's just bacon for the sake of bacon! But most people don't mind that at all.


Here are the harvested mini bell peppers...

Mini bell peppers are a wonderful plant to grow if you're limited on space. I will definitely continue to grow these. As you're about to see they make a cute little appetizer to any meal or for any party platter. If you're wondering where to buy mini bell peppers then I can tell you that I've seen them at my local produce place and even at Costco! They are usually sold in a multi-color (red, orange and yellow) pack. In a pinch you could even slice up a regular bell pepper into small slices and place the stuffing on top.

Ingredients:

24-36 miniature bell peppers, halved and cored
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
8 bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion
1 10-ounce packed chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Toss the pepper halves in 2 tbsp olive oil Arrange cut side up on a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes then turn the peppers and roast for an additional 5 minutes. (The original recipe calls for more bake time, but I found that the peppers became soft and began to brown at these times and I flipped them earlier so that they wouldn't burn.)

Cook the bacon and set it aside to cool. Once cooled crumble the bacon.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the chopped onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl to cool. Once cooled mix in the bacon, feta, spinach, cream cheese and crushed red pepper.

Spoon about 1 tbsp of the filled into each pepper half.

I had some filling leftover after stuffing the peppers which I ate on some toasted crusty Italian bread which was also delicious! The feta adds a nice salty flavor (anyone who knows me will tell you that I love salt!), the cream cheese adds a very nice creamy texture and the spinach, onion and bacon add rich flavors to the mix. If you're a fan of spinach dips or spreads then you will also like this filling.