What's For Dinner Wednesday: Lemon Grilled Chicken & Italian Stuffed Peppers

Tonight's dinner was completely inspired by a photo that I found on Pinterest.  As soon as I saw it I repinned it immediately just knowing that if it tasted half as good as it looked I would have a fabulous dinner to blog about.  When I decided I'd actually make it the link was bad so I scoured the internet to find the real thing which led me to the Proud Italian Cook blog.  I hadn't discovered this blog until now (amazing since I LOVE everything about Italian cooking), but I am a new fan.  Also, this blog has possibly the most delicious looking photography ever!  Check it out:

Do these peppers look totally amazing or what?

There wasn't much of a recipe that I could find, but more of an ingredient guide so I got creative and figured it out myself.  The peppers are definitely the star of this show, so I just served them alongside a simple and flavorful grilled chicken breast and it was a perfect grilled dinner for a summer night.  The leftover peppers also made a great lunch for the next day.

Ingredients

For the Lemon Grilled Chicken:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dry oregano
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

For the Italian Stuffed Peppers:

• 2 large bell peppers *I prefer red or orange, but yellow or green will work too
• Olive oil spray or cooking spray
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4 grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbs. Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 Tbs. fresh Italian herbs, finely chopped *I used basil, oregano, and parsley
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

Rinse chicken breasts with cold water and pat dry.  In a shallow glass dish whisk together olive oil and remaining 6 ingredients until combined.  Add the chicken breasts and pierce each one several times with a form (this will help the marinade to penetrate the chicken) and then turn each one over to coat on both sides.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, if not 3-4 hours.  Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and grill 5-6 minutes on each side or until cooked through and the juices run clear.

For the stuffed peppers, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and your grill to medium-high heat.  Slice each pepper in half from top to bottom and carefully remove the white membranes and seeds from the inside of the peppers.  Lightly spray each side of the peppers and grill 2-3 minutes on each side until the peppers are just becoming soft and grill marks appear.  In a medium bowl, combine rice and the following 7 ingredients.  Once peppers are cooled enough to handle, stuff each with 1/4 of the rice mixture and line up on a foil lined baking sheet.  Arrange diced mozzarella evenly on top of the peppers and gently press into the rice stuffing (as the cheese has a tendency to slide off during baking).  Bake for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Stuffed pepper recipe inspiration courtesy of Proud Italian Cook.