Just The Name It's So Long... Jack-O-Lantern Bell Peppers Stuffed With Kale & Shiitake Stuffing.

I love stuffed bell peppers anytime of year and these are  a little different than the standard recipe. My mom uses this kale and shiitake stuffing to usually stuff chicken but it worked great for this recipe. Since this stuffing goes with chicken I added some Tempeh Chicken, and it worked well. To make this more of a Halloween recipe I used orange bell peppers and craved them like Jack-o-lanterns. They taste as good as they look, all I need now is some wild rice.

 
Jack-O-Lantern Bell Peppers Stuffed With Kale & Shiitake Stuffing

2/3 cup carrot, chopped
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups shiitake mushroom, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup vegetable broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound coarsely chopped kale
1 8oz. package of tempeh, prepared in chicken style, chopped
1 teaspoon chili paste
4 orange bell peppers, tops cut away & seeds removed
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup vegan bacon bits

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Crave faces on the orange bell peppers like they were Halloween pumpkins. In a large pot of boiling water, parboil the peppers until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon dry on paper towels and set aside. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the tempeh chicken, garlic, carrots, salt, black pepper, chili paste and other spices. Cook until the tempeh is browned, stirring with a heavy wooden spoon to break up the lumps, about 6 minutes. Add vegetable broth, bacon bits and kale, stir well. Cook till kale is tender. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste. Stuff the bell peppers with the kale stuffing mixture and place in baking dish. Bake until the peppers are very tender and the filling is heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.