Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Let me start out by saying: I am the only one in this family who adores green peppers. 

If your family adores green peppers, and you make stuffed pepper recipes, then this is an amazing version that you should try.

I made this recipe one night and while the two older boys ate it nicely (but not with stars in their eyes, by any means), the youngest refused entirely (I scooped the rice out of his for him and ate his green pepper shell, gladly). My poor husband suffered it down, because he never complains about the food I make, but I could tell he was really struggling. Like I'm-gonna-hurl struggling. His aversion to green peppers is strong and irreversible, it seems (he likes other colors of peppers, and he is okay with green peppers cooked into things like chili or on top of pizza. But a big whole hunk of green pepper on his plate--he just can't do it. Yet he did. He loves me).

But hey, I LOVE GREEN PEPPERS, and you know what, this recipe is for ME! I love, love, love it. It made way too much stuffing, which was great, because the rice itself is amazing. For lunch the next two days, I took the stuffing and sliced up a raw green pepper on top of it, added some cheese, and nuked the whole mess for a couple minutes. YUM. The rice is also super delicious without using any peppers at all, just as a pilaf. I will be making this recipe for myself, even if not for the hubby. He is not picky about almost anything I make, and is always very gracious about my cooking hobby, so I'll let the stuffed green pepper thing go for family suppers. You can bet though, that the next time I get a nice bunch of green peppers, I will be making this for a good week's worth of lunch for myself!

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

4-6 medium peppers
2 T. olive oil
1 c. brown rice (I used 3/4 c. brown rice, 1/4 c. barley)
2 c. vegetable broth
1 small red onion
1 clove garlic
7 oz canned chopped tomatoes
pinch each of dried thyme, parsley and rosemary
1/2 c. peas (can thaw from frozen)
salt and pepper

1. First cook the rice in the vegetable broth and 1/2 c. of water. Either cook in a pot using instructions on rice package or use a rice cooker. Assemble your ingredients while the rice cooks. Read a book while waiting. :)

2. Turn oven on to 400 degrees F. Wash and dry peppers, put them on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil (I misted them with olive oil using a mister, click here to see). Bake peppers for 12 minutes.

3. Let peppers cool on the pan enough so that you can slice them in half, remove stems and seeds. Lay them, open side up, on the baking sheet.

4. Peel and dice the onion. Pour 1 T. olive oil in pan, bring it to medium heat, and throw the diced onions in. After 3 or 4 minutes, mince the garlic and add it to the onion. Cook for another minute, then add the tomatoes, herbs and a little salt and pepper. Let the mixture bubble and simmer on med/low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the rice and peas to this mixture, then spoon in the halves of pepper.

5. Put the stuffed peppers into the preheated oven for 10 minutes. For extra flavor, sprinkle shredded cheese of your choice on top after the 10 minutes, switch the oven to broil, and broil for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is beautiful and bubbly.