Treat Yourself (and your Honey)

For one night (or two), I give you permission to feed your child(ren) chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, or whatever their favorite food is.

Just so you (and your significant other) can enjoy these FABULOUS stuffed peppers.

It's been a while since I put a recipe on the blog. I have been more inspired by life, and politics, in the past few months.  But I still love to eat. As an aside, if you're looking for more great recipes that are healthy, visit Skinny Mom. Everything we have tried has been incredibly good, and honestly doesn't taste like "diet" food. This recipe I found on their site, although it was a re-post from another blog. Here's the link to the original recipe!

But on to my decadent recipe, perfect to be shared with someone you love... and it is ready in under 30 minutes. Winner!

Sausage, Goat Cheese and Arugula Stuffed Peppers

2 medium bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed
2 tsp oil (I didn't use this, but depending on what type of sausage you choose, you might need to)
2 links (or 3/4 lb) sausage of your choice, casings removed (I used Hillshire Farm mild sausage)
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
2 large handfuls of arugula (about 1 1/2 oz), or you can just use 1/2 of the 5 oz package like I did
Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste
1 1/2 TB freshly grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place peppers on a baking sheet (covered with foil) and set aside.

Heat olive oil (if using) in medium skillet over medium/high heat. Add sausage and cook until it browns, crumbling with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Once the sausage has browned, drain it, reduce heat to low and stir in the arugula and goat cheese until the cheese has melted and the arugula is wilted. Taste and add salt, pepper and red pepper to taste.

Spoon filling into the peppers and sprinkle each half with Parmesan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the peppers have softened slightly. Serve immediately.

Just FYI, the original recipe called for three peppers, but I found this filling worked perfectly for two peppers. Maybe my peppers were bigger than "medium" or maybe I just like more filling. I served this with Skinny Mom Quinoa Mexi-Lime Salad, since one pepper wasn't enough for my husband (it was for me). You could make this lighter by using turkey sausage, but I decided that if you're going to be decadent, you might as well really be decadent and enjoy real sausage.

I hope you like this as much as we did. Happy holidays!