Friday, March 7, 2008

sorry i've been mia - i have actually been making things, mostly meals, but i've also been busy. plus, i've been fighting with my picasa uploader for a week and finally figured out that i can just export using iphoto...so new photos are up and i have reason to post!

yesterday i made a yummy, updated (to me) version of stuffed peppers. i remember these being filled with white rice, cheese, ground meat and possibly a vegetable (one single piece, i mean). i've even made them that way in the last year. but then i stumbled across the blog smitten kitchen and found this recipe that calls for none of the above (well, yes, it has the vegetable component...but so many, in fact, that it doesn't really equal the "one" required above). i'll
share the recipe below.

chopping zucchini, one of my favorite year-round veggies

a nice selection of little tomatoes

so now you know...there are zucchini and tomatoes in these peppers. there's also so much more:

couscous and feta stuffed peppers
1 1/4 c fat-free vegetable broth (you can use chicken for non veg friendly)
2/3 c couscous
4 extra large or 5 large bell peppers, mixed colors 
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced thinly
1 yellow squash, quartered and slice thinly
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
3 tbsp tomato paste

1. coat a baking dish with cooking spray. 
2. cut the stems and top half inch off the peppers and remove seeds and membranes
3. place peppers upright in baking dish and roast at 350°F for 15 min, or until soft (then remove from oven until filling is ready)
4. bring vegetable broth to boil, add couscous, cover and remove from heat
5. heat oil in non-stick skillet and saute onion, zucchini, squash and spices/salt until softened
6. remove from heat and add tomatoes, chickpeas and tomato paste - stir to combine
7. add the couscous to mixture and toss to combine
8. stir in feta
9. fill peppers with couscous mixture and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F

stuffing ready for peppers

we enjoyed this with some heavily buttered bread stuck under the broiler. (hey, a little bread and butter never hurt anybody. except paula dean. she should lay off the butter, if only so we wouldn't have to see her licking the knife/bowl/food/etc. on every show)

trust me, this is good stuff (heh...)

1 comments:

Thomas said...

Looks delish! J and I made some great vegetarian un-lasagna with ravioli and artichoke hearts. And chocolate chip cookies. Yum . . . And I got into my grad program. Holla.