STUFFED PEPPERS

This recipe like yesterdays can be made differently every time by changing up some ingredients. It is a great vegetarian dish or you can add ground meat or sausage to it to make it even more hearty. This is a very budget friendly meal.

Ingredients:

6 bell peppers (any color you prefer)

1 zucchini grated

1/4 cup kalamata olives finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 shallot finely chopped

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (San Marzano preferred)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/1-2 cups orzo pasta (or very small pasta)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Combine zucchini, olives, shallot, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, 1/2 cup cheese, salt, pepper and cayenne.

Meanwhile, cook pasta about 4 minutes in boiling salted water or chicken broth. Don't overcook the pasta, it should be only halfway cooked. Drain pasta but reserve pasta water or broth. Stir pasta with the vegetable mixture. Put the pasta water/broth in the bottom of a baking dish big enough to fit all the peppers.

Cut tops off peppers and clean out all seeds and extra skin inside. You should cut a thin slice off the bottoms so the peppers stand up in the dish.

Fill each pepper with the pasta and vegetable mixture. Put the stuffed peppers in the baking dish. Cover the dish with tin foil to prevent burning and cook peppers for about 45 minutes. Mix the last 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumbs. Remove the foil and top each pepper with the cheese and breadcrumb mixture. Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes until cheese mixture browns.

So delicious and a meal in itself.

ENJOY!