Sunday, August 15, 2010

Stuffed Peppers


Wow I had an abundance of peppers to use up. From my garden you ask? I wish! Next year! Any who....they were from Hunters 6 month photo shoot. We had the brilliant idea to do a cooking shoot. So, I pretty much bought out the produce section at the store.
I was sitting around this afternoon contemplating what to make for dinner with my abundance of veg, and stuffed peppers sounded good. I found this recipe on Food Network's web site, but I had to totally adapt it to what I had. They turned out fabulous, and Hunter and I enjoyed a nice evening of food on the deck.

1 15 oz. can diced fire roasted tomatos
1 zucchini, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup parm
1/8 cup olive oil
1 huge clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups veggie broth
1 cup orzo (didn't have enough, so did half orzo, half Israeli couscous)
4 bell peppers (could have made 5, but pan wasn't big enough)

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Pour tomatoes into large bowl and add zucchini, basil, cheese, olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
  3. Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook 4 minutes. The orzo should only be partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables. Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm veggie broth to a 3 quart baking dish.
  4. Slice the tops of the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds.
  5. Place peppers in the baking dish with the warm veggie broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle top with feta and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Enjoy!