Greek Rice & Feta Stuffed Peppers

1 cup (250 mL) brown rice, cooked

2 yellow peppers, fresh

2 red peppers, fresh

1 lb (0.5 kg) ground chicken, lean

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) salt

1 egg, fresh, medium

1/4 cup (60 mL) pasta sauce, marinara, low sodium

2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice, fresh

2 tsp (10 mL) lemon peel/zest, fresh

1 jalapeno pepper, fresh, minced (optional)

1 tomato, fresh, medium, diced

1/2 cup (125 mL) onion, diced

1/4 cup (60 mL) feta cheese, crumbled

2 tbsp (30 mL) pine nuts

1 tbsp (15 mL) oregano, fresh, minced

2 tbsp (30 mL) mint, fresh, minced

1 1/2 cup (375 mL) pasta sauce, marinara, low sodium

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2 Prepare the rice. Leftover works great.
3 Cut peppers in half vertically through the stems and discard inner seeds and membranes. Keep the stems on as they look nice and help to hold in the filling.
4 Place ground chicken in a medium bowl and sprinkle with salt. Break egg over mixture. Add ¼ cup (60 mL) pasta sauce, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest/peel, finely minced jalapeno (optional), diced tomato, diced onions, crumbled feta, pine nuts, minced fresh oregano and mint. Mix by hand until well combined.
5 Add the last 1 ½ cup (375 mL) of tomato/pasta sauce to bottom of baking dish. Fill peppers with chicken and rice mixture. You can mound them fairly high. Place in baking dish over pasta sauce.
6 Bake for 45 minutes and until the stuffed peppers are thoroughly cooked and a thermometer registers internal temperature of 160°F (70°C). Serve peppers with the pan sauce.