1medium zucchinior vegetable of choice, finely diced
4tablespoonsextra virgin olive oildivided
1 ½cupscooked rice*
1jar Barilla Marinara Sauce
2cupsshredded cheesedivided**
⅔cuppanko bread crumbs
Instructions
Cut the tops from the bell peppers and clean out their insides. Rinse.
Place the bell peppers in the oven, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (If you don’t have rice ready to go, now is the time to start making some!)
Once you’ve finely chopped your chicken, toss with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Finely dice a medium onion and small zucchini. (You can also use yellow squash, mushrooms, a small eggplant, or other vegetables).
Heat a large skillet and add 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
Cook the onion and zucchini together until the onions are fragrant and translucent.
Add the chicken, and cook through.
Add in the rice and Barilla Marinara sauce. Stir well.
Sir in all but ½ cup of the cheese.
Use oven mitts to remove the bell peppers and carefully stuff them.
Mix together the bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and remaining cheese.
Generously top the stuffed peppers with the breadcrumb mixture.
Bake until the bread crumbs are toasted—about 5 - 10 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Notes
*I prefer brown rice, but you can use white rice or any of your favorite grains!**I used a blend of mozzarella, Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano