Whenever I hear the word "stuffed" applied to any type of food, I assume that the task of creating the dish requires plentiful skills and a major time commitment. This dish just makes it seem like you've slaved away for hours.
Gather up your ingredients:
1lb. ground beef
1/2 yellow onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 carrot (grated)
1 zucchini
1/4 c. pasta sauce
3 bell peppers (halved with tops, ribs and seeds removed)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. grated cheese
Fresh parsley for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the bell peppers in an oven-proof dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the peppers are just starting to soften. You want them to retain their shape, so be sure not to overcook them.
Cook the onions in a medium-sized skillet in olive oil over medium heat for about 7 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the grated zucchini and carrots, cook for 5 more minutes, then remove from pan.
Brown the ground beef in the pan, and add seasonings. When finished, drain the fat, and return the onions, garlic and zucchini to the pan. Add the tomato sauce and cook for a few minutes, so that the sauce is mostly absorbed into the meat mixture.
Fill the bell pepper halves with the meat mixture, and top with cheese. I used Daiya (vegan) cheese here, but use any kind of cheese that you like. Bake the whole shebang in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. You could turn on the broiler to speed up the process, but keep an eye on it!
One thing that I didn't include in this recipe was rice, which you typically find in stuffed peppers. I made this on the fly, so I completely forgot about it. Add rice to the mixture if you like, or you could add a side of Israeli cous cous to your meal for a starchy component. In any event, you'll have a satisfying meal. You could also substitute lentils in for the ground beef if you want a completely vegan dish... the options are endless.
I'd love to know how your results turned out. Enjoy!
P.S. Sorry about the poor picture quality. I orginially wrote this post using the Blogger app on my phone, and somehow the images aren't as sharp as I would have liked. I am not the most tech-savvy person around, so it may take me a while to fix this.
