Stuffed Peppers, Veggie Style

So, I'll admit it.  I haven't cooked very much in the past week.  Or two weeks.  However, starting Monday, I pretty much have no choice again.  Grad school, here I come.

But notice that I say "I haven't cooked very much," not "I haven't cooked at all."  I did cook a couple of times.  And not only did I cook, I made up my own recipe.  How's that for being productive?

When we had the two peppers from the garden and mom asked me what to do with them, the first thing that came to my mind were stuffed peppers.  Granted, usually those are made with ground beef, which I am not a fan of.  So, I created my own veggie recipe.

I used this recipe as a base, but I added my own flair.  I also threw in pieces of mom's traditional ground beef recipe, like the sauce, for instance.

 

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Sauce:
16 oz. can of chopped tomatoes (undrained)
6 oz. can of tomato paste
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients until well mixed.

Peppers:
4 medium bell peppers
Oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 small-medium summer squash
Italian seasoning, to taste
2 cups (or more) cooked brown rice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 recipe sauce

Cut the tops off of the peppers, and clean out any seeds that remain.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

 Steam peppers, cut side down, in the mircowave by putting them in a microwavable baking dish with about 1/2 inch or so of water.  Then cover, leaving a vent for some steam to escape and mircowave for 4 minutes on high.  Place the steamed peppers, cut side up, in a square baking dish.

Heat the oil in a skillet, then saute the garlic until aromatic.  Add the summer squash and salt and cook until it is beginning to soften.  Add all but about a cup of the sauce and heat, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.

Stir the rice and 1/4 cup of cheese into the sauce in the skillet.  Mix well.  Pour the mixture into the peppers in the baking dish.  Any leftover rice mixture is great as a side or as leftovers.  Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Uncover the peppers, sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over the tops and bake 10 more minutes.

Serve extra sauce with the peppers.



I was pretty happy with how they came out.  I had extra rice because I used more than two cups, but it also has to do with how big the peppers are.  We ate a lot of the extra as a side because the peppers didn't look all that filling.  Looks are deceiving.

I thought they actually came out pretty well, for a mishmash of recipes.  I think NES and mom and dad liked them too, but I can't really speak for them.

And on a completely unrelated note, it is before frost, and I harvested two homegrown tomatoes today.  This is a banner day.