Stuffed Vegetables

h2Chef’s Note/h2
pStuffing “stuff” just makes them special. Every once in a while I love to stuff bigger vegetables like eggplant, Portobello mushrooms, or colored bell peppers. The recipe below is contains sweet sausage, but leave it out when you want a vegetarian dish. It still tastes amazing. Yes, I know, this recipe takes a lot of chopping. 1 - You can do much of it a day in advance and 2 - most important, it is worth all the “dog” work./p
h2Ingredients/h2
ul
li2 small eggplants, or 4 portobello mushrooms, or 4 colored bell peppers, or 8 small zucchini/li
li2 TBSP. olive oil/li
li2 chicken, pork or turkey sausages, removed from the casing/li
li1 medium sweet onion/li
li1 tsp. grated or minced garlic./li
li4 ounces brown mushrooms (baby bella or crimini), cut into chunks/li
li½ tsp. Dijon mustard/li
li½ tsp. dried oregano/li
li1 tsp. fresh basil, chopped/li
li1 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped/li
li2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced/li
li1/3 cup Kalamata olives, diced/li
li¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese/li
liSalt pepper to taste (and your Doctor’s advice)/li
li4 slices mozzarella, halvarti, or jack cheese (optional)/li
/ul
h2HOW TO PREPARE THE RECIPE/h2
ol
liCut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Scoop out about ¼ of the flesh. Salt and turn upside down to drain.br /
ORbr /
Remove the stems from the mushroomsbr /
ORbr /
Remove the seeds and membranes from the peppers./li
liHeat the olive oil in a skillet./li
liAdd the sausage meat and cook to brown./li
liAdd the sliced onion and cook until light brown. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more./li
liFinally add the mushrooms and cook until some liquid starts to seep out of the mushrooms. Allow to cool./li
liCombine all the remaining ingredients (except the mozzarella cheese) and add to the skillet./li
liRemove from the skillet and chop roughly so it stays chunky./li
liFill the Eggplant, mushroom, or peppers./li
liBake at 350° for 30 minutes./li
listrong(Optional)/strong:Top with the cheese and bake five minutes more./li
/ol
h2Nutrition Information/h2
pServes 4br /
Net Carbohydrates: 10 grams/p
piSource:a href=”http://www.thedecadentdiabetic.com/” Ward Alper, the Decadent Diabetic/a/i/p