Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

This is another one of those I-made-it-up-as-I-went-along recipes.  I had 2 red bell peppers from the farmers market that were just crying out for something more than being chopped up in a salad – stuffing them seemed like a good choice. 

I spent a few minutes thinking about what makes a great stuffing.  My mom used to stuff bell peppers with ground hamburger and white rice, and top them with jarred spaghetti sauce.  Bland and boring, but it gave me a starting point to work from.  I decided to take that formula and tinker with it.  Here’s what I came up with:

• 1 cup of dried couscous, cooked in 2 cups of veggie broth, cooled and fluffed
• 1/2 lb of lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb of ground pork
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch baby spinach leaves, chopped fine
• 2 cups homemade tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded mixed cheeses (mozerella, romano, asiago)
• 4 medium bell peppers, washed and cored

I only had 2 peppers, but the filling I crafted makes enough to stuff 4.  I had lots left over.

In a large skillet (I used a 12″ cast iron), crumble the ground beef and pork over medium heat.  When the meat is about 1/2 way cooked, add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook until the onion is translucent and the meat is done.  Mix in the spinach and cook until the spinach is dark and wilty.   Stir in the couscous and mix everything thoroughly.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Put your cored bell peppers in a baking dish and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Pack the filling into the peppers, putting any remaining filling in the bottom of the baking dish.  Top with the tomato sauce and the cheese.

Bake in a 400° oven for about 35 minutes, until heated through and the cheese is melted and browned and bubbly.

This turned out really well – the bell peppers were still a little crunchy but tender enough to add their flavor to the filling.  I would imagine that you could make this with all beef, all pork, or even ground turkey to help reduce calories and fat some.  Rice, couscous, I even thought about trying orzo or quinoa for the more starchy part of the filler. Also, one serving of this was VERY filling, so at under 450 calories each, this a respectable dinner – you could even cut one in half and serve it with a big green salad, if you felt the need.

All in all, this was a great way to use some of the farmer’s market produce that I bought last weekend.

Nutritional Info: (4 servings of one stuffed pepper each) Calories: 444. Fat: 7.0g. Sodium: 434mg. Carbs: 53.1g. Fiber: 8.4g. Protein: 41.9g. (courtesy Calorie Count Recipe Analyser)

Enjoy!