Peppers Pizzaiola

As much as we enjoy Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers my mother’s recipe for Peppers Pizzaiola is one that we probably enjoy even more.

While growing up and even to the day I married and moved into my own home I was never responsible for preparing a meal for our family. Though not being hands on in the daily preparation of meals, unknowingly I was attending a very good culinary school located in my mother's kitchen. The lessons learned there taught many skills that would serve me well in the future.

My mother was a full time mom and never worked outside of the home so we were spoiled by her always ready and delicious meals, clean laundry and a general sense of security and well being, knowing that she was always there. Since the art of dessert was not one of her stronger attributes my sister and I were assigned to that responsibility.  Later on my sister became the sole pastry chef while I was banished to the sewing machine to keep us all fashionably dressed. (This sounds like a good plot for a modern day fairy tale.)

After marrying and moving out, a quick phone call to my mother would give me a basic idea of how to prepare some of the dishes that I enjoyed while living at home.
By now you are probably aware of the fact that her recipes never included exact amounts of ingredients, cooking times or oven temperatures so over the years I’ve had to figure a few things out on my own and take ownership of her recipes.
I believe that this is the first time they have been written down and feel good about doing so as it would be a shame to think they might not otherwise be passed along.

After watching the many television commercials it’s truly sad to see the food memories now being made consisting of how fast and how little effort we can get away with when putting together a meal. Top marks always go to products of convenience which make it easy for eating on the run but not so easy on our health or wallet.

Home made nutritious food, a warm inviting kitchen, family all around the table and a good recipe…now here's some food for thought!

Peppers Pizzaiola

These are the measurements of ingredients used for 8
smaller size red, orange and yellow peppers
¾ cups plain tomato sauce (puree peeled plum tomatoes, strain out seeds)
½ cup grated cheese (Parmigiano, Crotonese)
1 tablespoons dried oregano
Fresh basil leaves (as much as you want)
¼ cup olive oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ cups water

1. Wash peppers, cut in half, remove stem and seeds then cut into chunks or strips.
2. Place cut peppers in a baking pan add the rest of the ingredients on top of the peppers.
3. With hands or spoon thoroughly mix all of the ingredients together until peppers are well coated.
4. Add water to the pan then cover with foil wrap.
5. Bake in a 375F degree oven for about 45 minutes
6. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes.

 Notes, Tips and Suggestions

• I’ve done my best to put together a basic recipe and method of preparation for these peppers. You may want to alter amounts of ingredients to suit your taste and needs.
• When in season, fresh oregano works well.
• For a variation, add some favourite mushrooms along with peppers before baking. Oyster mushrooms pair with the peppers very well.
• Clean and cut peppers then freeze in zip lock bags, use in this recipe at a later date.  When using, add frozen peppers to baking pan then add the rest of the ingredients, proceed as in the above method. Omit the water since the frozen peppers will have enough water in them to create a juice, bake. 
• This is another dish to practice your "bread dipping" skills.