Making Stuff: A tasy take on stuffed peppers

 David and I have been using our new found time together at home to revisit our love for cooking. One thing we both have liked in our adulthood are stuffed peppers. One night, I wanted to use up things we had in our pantry and discovered that we may be able to make stuffed peppers. David made a run to the store and found these beautiful peppers while I surfed the internet to find a recipe. What I found were several recipes that didn't quite add up to the contents of my pantry, so David and I decided this was an opportunity to put what we know about cooking and about what mixes well together, and we created our own recipe. It was very tasty, so I decided I wanted to be sure to get it in writing for future use.

If you try this and like it, let us know. If you try a new take on it, let us know. If you didn't like it, let us know. . . Just let us know!

Note: You'll notice that this recipe doesn't use the full cans - if you would prefer, double everything and freeze two of the peppers for later!

Couscous and Tomato Stuffed Green Peppers for two

Ingredients:

8 oz. ground beef (or sausage would be good, too)

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 T. minced onion

1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

1 T. tomato paste

1 c. tomato sauce

2 large green peppers

1/4 c. dried pearl couscous

1 c. sharp white cheddar (rustic cut)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Wash the peppers. Cut the tops off the green peppers, remove the stems and seeds. Dice the remaining part of the tops. 

3. Spray an oven safe dish with olive oil. Place the bottom of the peppers open side up in the dish, then spray with olive oil. Place the dish in the preheated oven to lightly roast the peppers for about 10 minutes. You don't want to cook them completely, as they will continue the cooking process once you have stuffed them.

4. While the peppers are pre-roasting, brown the ground beef in a skillet on medium-high heat with the onions. Drain if you didn't use lean meat.

5. Add the garlic, diced peppers, tomato paste, tomatoes, italian seasoning, salt/pepper, and tomato sauce and simmer on low, stirring occasionally.

6. Prepare the couscous according to package directions.

7. Once the peppers have finished, let them cool while you add the couscous and 1/2 of the cheese to the meat mixture and continue to simmer on low, stirring occasionally.

8. Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture, then top with remaining cheese.

9. Bake, uncovered in oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.