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Bell peppers come in a variety of colors including red, green, yellow, orange, purple, brown and black.  They are nicknamed “sweet” peppers.   Sweet peppers are rich in vitamins including A and C.  Medium bell peppers average only 30 calories per pepper.  Bell peppers are one of those vegetables that you can find all year in the grocery store, they taste pretty good throughout the year, but have a peak season during the months of August and September.  The colored peppers like red and yellow can be quite expensive during the “off-season” reaching prices of $4.00 per pound and more.  Most peppers you buy are actually a red variety.  Green peppers are picked before they turn red. 

When picking bell peppers at the grocery store you want to look for firm peppers without wrinkles.  They can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.  You should wash your peppers throughly before cooking with them as they are heavily fertilized. 

So how about some recipes utilizing sweet bell peppers?

Try Rachael Ray’s Zucchini-roni Pizza.  It really is a delicious vegetarian pizza.  I love the way the zucchini cooks up.  I often use my own homemade pizza dough with this recipe and it tastes fabulous. 

Zucchini-roni Pizza

1 (14-ounce) jar roasted red peppers or 2 medium homemade roasted red peppers
1/2 pound smoked fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
1 thin crust packaged pizza shell, 12 inches
1/2 medium zucchini, sliced very thin into discs (think of pepperoni slices as a guideline)
2 cloves garlic, minced
A drizzle extra-virgin olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Coarse salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
If you are using jarred red peppers, drain them very well and pat peppers dry with paper towels. Place peppers in a food processor and pulse-grind into a paste. Spread paste in a thin layer on a thin crust shell. Top paste with thin slices of smoked fresh mozzarella cheese.
Place very thinly sliced zucchini discs in a small bowl and combine with remaining ingredients. Toss discs well to evenly coat with seasonings. The zucchini discs will have a flavor similar to pepperoni. You have just made zucchinironi!
Arrange your zucchinironi slices around your pie: as little or as much as you like, but do not overlap slices or you pie will be wet.
Bake directly on oven rack or on a preheated, perforated pizza pan. Bake 10 minutes on the middle rack of preheated oven or, until cheese is bubbly and golden and edges of pizza are crisp.

Or

Giada’s Stuffed Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 large egg
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup dried plain bread crumbs
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
2 zucchini, ends removed, halved lengthwise and crosswise
1 short orange bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 short red bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 short yellow bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly drizzle the olive oil into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Whisk the onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the turkey. Cover and refrigerate the turkey mixture.

Using a melon baller or spoon, carefully scrape out the seeds and inner flesh from the zucchini, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Be careful not to pierce through the skin. Fill the zucchini and pepper halves with the turkey mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange the stuffed vegetables in the baking dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the stuffed vegetables.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown and a thermometer inserted into the filling registers 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes. Transfer the stuffed vegetables to a platter and serve.

Here are the links to both recipes over at Food TV -

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_19942,00.html?rsrc=search  (Rachel’s Zucchini-roni Pizza)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30881,00.html?rsrc=search  (Giada’s Stuffed Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers)