Bob's Stuffed Banana Peppers

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 8 banana peppers
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 lb bulk hot italian sausage
• 1 lb bulk italian sausage (mild or sweet)
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Recipe

• 1 cut tops off the 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°f.
• 3 meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, worcestershire sauce and parmesan. mix in hot sausage, mild sausage, bread crumbs and 1 cup of the tomato sauce mixture.
• 4 using a piping bag or sausage stuffer, fill each pepper with the meat mixture. please in a 3 quart casserole dish and pour remaining tomato sauce mixture over peppers.
• 5 bake uncovered in preheated oven for 1 hour.
• 6 you can also place the stuffed peppers upright in a crockpot or slow cooker, cover with tomato sauce and cover; cook on high or low heat depending on the time available, until tomato mixture is boiling and meat is cooked through.