Stuffed Green Pepper

Our pick-your-own patch is still full to the brim of delicious sweet peppers available for you to come harvest. While peppers are often found within salsas and sauces, they can also be the star of the show at dinner time! Check out this stuffed pepper recipe to see what I mean. It’s not only delicious, but also a great way to use up leftovers. I created this recipe on a Monday afternoon, following a Sunday night BBQ. My fridge was full of a random assortment of leftovers – sausages, veggies from kabobs, and a bit of brown rice. I did a bit of chopping, mixed it all up with some cheese and BBQ sauce, stuffed it inside a pepper, and bam! A delicious meal all in one. Pretty nutritious too! It’s heavy on the veggies, and features brown rice, both high-fiber foods, which means it will leave you feeling full and satisfied.

What’s more is it’s not only healthy for our bodies, but also for the planet. Using up leftovers is a great way to minimize food waste. Did you know that each year in Canada, $31 billion worth of food is wasted? That works out to approximately $28/week for the average household. Nearly 50% of Canadian food waste occurs in the home, too.* So although tossing leftovers in the trash or compost may seem like no big deal, it really does add up for not just your pocket but also the health of our world. Small, everyday changes in the way we think about food and food waste really can make a difference!

Overall, this recipe is by no means set in stone. Feel free to get creative and swap out the meat or veggies for whatever you have available. I’m excited to see what you come up with!

*http://tfpc.to/food-waste-landing/food-waste-theissue

*Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

4 sweet green pepper

2 pre-cooked sausages

2 cups cooked mixed veggies: zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, diced jalapeno, onion or whatever you have on hand

1 cup cooked brown rice

¾ cup sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup BBQ sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Fun fact, you can also use a toaster oven! That’s what I did for this recipe, in an attempt to keep the house cooler during this hot summer weather.

2. Carefully slice off the top of the peppers. Remove the seeds and white membranes by carefully sliding a paring knife around the inside of the peppers and then tugging it all out. This is a handy trick, as it keeps the mess to a minimum!

3. Place the peppers in a microwave-safe dish. Add about 1 cup of water to the dish, so that it reaches approximately 1 cm up the side of the pepper.

4. Microwave the peppers in 30 second increments, for a total of 3 minutes. This steams them, par-cooking them so that they cook evenly later on in the recipe along with the filling.

5. While the peppers are cooking, mix together the rice, chopped veggies, BBQ sauce, and cheese (but save a little bit for the end!) in a small bowl. Set aside

6. Carefully remove the peppers from the microwave – they will be very hot! I recommend using oven mitts, just to be safe.

7. Transfer the steamed peppers to an oven-safe dish. Season the inside of the peppers with a sprinkle of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Transfer the rice and vegetable mixture into the peppers, and top with a little bit more cheese.

8. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the peppers are browned and the cheese is melted and browning.

9. Remove from the oven & serve! Be careful, though – they will be hot!

Recipe created by Alex Chesney, RD