Chicken Stuffed Green Peppers

This is one of the best recipes in my arsenal; definitely in my top ten. It has wonderful flavor, sophisticated presentation, and loads of healthy vegetables. This recipe can easily be made into a vegetarian dish if you replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth and the shredded chicken with fresh chopped mushrooms. The flavor combination of the wild rice, thyme, and zucchini is fantastic! If you need a "wow" recipe that looks and tastes like it requires lots of culinary talent, this is your dish. It does take some time to put together (1 1/2 hours) but none of the steps are hard so plan ahead and enjoy.

Serves: 4 people
Start-to-finish: 1 hour 30 minutes
Recipe By: Shelley Armstrong

Ingredients:

4 large green peppers (you want them to be similar sizes)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 TBSP butter
3 cups diced cooked chicken (I like to use a large can of cooked chicken or a precooked little rotisserie chicken)
2 cups chicken broth
1 (6-oz) pkg long grain brown and wild rice blend
1/3 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds and insides.
2. In a large pot, cook peppers in boiling water for 3 min.
3. Drain and rinse in cold water.
4. Place upside down on paper towels; set aside.
5. In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in butter until tender.
6. Add the chicken, broth, rice with contents of seasoning packet, celery, carrot, basil and thyme; bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 min or until the rice is almost tender.
8. Remove from the heat; stir in the tomatoes and zucchini.
9. Spoon rice mixture into the peppers; place in a greased 2-qt. baking dish. (You can spoon any remaining rice mixture around peppers.)
10. Cover and bake at 350° for 25 min.
11. Uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; bake 5 min longer.