Everybody LOVES a WINNER! And, this easy prep pizza meal for four will make you a winner in your family’s and friends' eyes on Super Bowl Sunday. Let it bake while you enjoy the game!
It takes very little prep time. In fact, get the kids involved and you’ll have it in the oven in no time.
With sweet peppers, hamburger and sausage and cheese, there’s no crust to deal with for this wonderful pizza flavor. Simply mix some hamburger, sausage and cheese with an egg and a few of my Crusty Bread croutons (or your favorite store-bought Italian version) and stuff in the half sweet peppers. Slather the top with your favorite pizza sauce. Then let it bake while you enjoy snacks with your family and friends during the pregame show and the first half of the game. Your delicious meal will be done by halftime. Serve it with crispy garlic toast and homemade ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
This meal makes four hearty servings.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Prep your pan:
Lightly oil a 12”x6” oven safe ceramic casserole bowl. Mine is oval with 4” sides.
Collect your pizza ingredients:
2 Sweet Peppers, large, orange, red or yellow
¾ Lb. Hamburger
¼ Lb. Pizza sausage, bulk (I use Italian spiced sausage, bulk)
1 C Croutons, Italian seasoned, crushed
1 Egg, lightly beaten
2 C Pizza sauce, divided
¾ C Pizza cheese, Mozzarella, divided
Start mixing:
- First, cut the stem off the tops of the peppers and cut in half from top to bottom.
- Clean the peppers, removing seeds and membrane.
- I mix everything in the ceramic baking pan to avoid getting another bowl dirty. At this point, mix the hamburger, sausage, crushed croutons, egg and ½ cup of pizza sauce together. Set the meat aside on the foil you will use as a cover for the baking pan.
- Wipe out the baking pan and lightly coat it with vegetable oil.
- Pour ½ cup of the pizza sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
- Stuff the meat mixture into the peppers, letting the meat mound up above the edges.
- Lay the half peppers, cut sides up, on top of the pizza sauce in the baking dish.
- Pour the rest of the pizza sauce all over the tops of the stuffed peppers.
- Lightly cover the baking pan with the foil.
- Bake for 1 ½ hours. Take the foil off and check for doneness of the sweet peppers. They should be soft when you stick a fork in the side of the peppers. If they are done, it’s ready to add the cheese. If not, bake for another 15 minutes and check again for doneness.
- Sprinkle the cheese all over the tops of the peppers and return to the oven, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes. Bake until the cheese has the color and doneness you like – from creamy and stringy white to light brown to golden brown.
- Take out of the oven and lightly lay the aluminum foil back on top of the baking dish. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Serve with garlic toast and your favorite sides – salads, veggies, etc. Spoon some of the extra sauce on top of the peppers on each serving dish.
- Milk, beer and wine are great accompaniments. Enjoy!
A favorite pizza dish
This is one of my favorite dishes as an alternative to pizza. It still has that wonderful pizza sauce and aroma, without all the crust. Plus, the sweet peppers add more nutrients for everyday living.
Add any other favorites in the hamburger mixture such as cut up pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, jalapenos, etc. You could even add these into the pizza sauce that surrounds the peppers and use it as a chunky sauce to stream over the peppers. It’s perfect as a hot supper on a cold evening, and as a complete meal while watching a competitive football game with friends. It’s all about “Baking your own Memories!”
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