Lasagna Stuffed Peppers

At first the name of this recipe sounded kind of weird to me, but I decided to try anyway. I am so glad I did. Ricotta cheese with bell peppers is actually a magical combination. It adds a perfectly sweet element that regular lasagna just doesn't.

This dish is low carb, keto friendly and gluten free. A beautiful trifecta. 

Lets make sure you have everything you need. Here is a list, now go check your pantry and fridge. If you need anything, screen shot this list and grab some groceries!

This is a very low carb meal but gives you all the satisfaction of a carb loaded lasagna.

Bell peppers are mild enough to accentuate so many dishes! I have used them in pasta and potato salads, tacos, fajitas, stir-fry, chow mien, fried rice, kabobs, sandwiches, spaghetti sauces, sloppy joe casserole and more!

I had to play around with the original recipe to get this just right. At first it was really watery and the peppers were soggy. YUCK! But I saw the potential and tried again. This time I strained the tomatoes really, REALLY well. I drained the grease from the meat with fine mesh strainer and then sprinkled the beef on some paper towels to really dry it out. I also boiled the spaghetti sauce to help reduce it a bit. You could also add some tomato paste to thicken it up a bit. Those things really helped! All the water from the peppers, rehydrates what you just eliminated making everything the perfect texture and not super watery. 

I am the cook who likes everything finely minced for the most part. This dish is one where I finely minced the onion and garlic. I do this for several reasons, one is a picky eater. The onion and garlic blend in with the meat really well when they are finely minced. The other is flavor distribution. I am a firm believer in flavor distribution and love having the full flavor experience in each bite! Share your results with me using the hashtag #thymeatmytable! I can't wait to see!

SUBSTITUTIONS:

• Green bell peppers can be used instead of red, yellow or orange.
• Onion powder or minced dried onion can be used in place of a small onion. Just use 1 tbsp of onion powder or 2 tbsp minced dried onion. Avoid onion salt if possible.
• Garlic powder can be used as an alternative to minced garlic. Avoid garlic salt if possible.
• Ground beef can be swapped with ground turkey, ground chicken or ground pork.
• Oregano and basil can be used in place of Italian seasoning, just do an extra half of a teaspoon of each.
• Italian seasoning can be used in place of Oregano and Basil. Just use one forth of a teaspoon of Italian seasoning to make up for it.
• Ricotta cheese can be interchanged with cottage cheese. 
• Mozzarella cheese can be swapped with any other shredded cheese.

SUGGESTED SIDES:

• Cesar Salad
• Garlic Bread
• Breadsticks
• Roasted Vegetables
• Steamed Broccoli & Cauliflower
• Garden Salad

See the recipe below for some delicious and complementary side dish ideas.

If you have picky eaters and want to hide some extra veggies, finely mince up mushrooms and add that to the ground beef mixture. They blend in so well with the beef that even your pickiest eater shouldn't notice them! I've done this for the last 7 years and haven't had a complaint about mushrooms in ground beef!