Cous Cous Stuffed Peppers

PEPPERS:

2-3 large Bell Peppers

1 6 oz. box Cous Cous, prepared to box directions

1/2 large Yellow Onion

2-3 cups Spinach

3 cloves Garlic, coarsely chopped

8 oz. Whole Corn Kernels

4 oz. Green Chilies

8 oz. can Tomato Sauce

8 oz. can Black Beans

Pepper Jack Cheese, crushed Tortilla Chips, Cayenne, Salt, Pepper, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce to taste

*Makes enough stuffing for 2 peppers plus leftovers, or 3 generously filled peppers.

SIDE SALAD:

Coarsely chopped Red Leaf Lettuce

Pumpkin Seeds

Cherry Tomatoes

1 chopped Carrot

1/2 ripe Avocado, cut into chunks

DRESSING:

1 tbsp. plain Greek Yogurt

Juice of 1 lime

Cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste

We started with the idea of using cous cous to stuff peppers and bake them in our oven. Simple enough of a start, right? Using cous cous as a base for stuffing appealed to us because of its grainy texture and neutral flavor, not to mention it only takes minutes to cook! With a simple bare bones idea of what to cook for dinner, we headed to the market.

Walking up and down the isles we stared to zero in on tastes, textures and colors we wanted to incorporate into our dish:

"Orange and yellow peppers, definitely."

"Something chunky!"

"Let's make it spicy!"

"It needs to have a crunch to it..."

"Let's layer  the cheese throughout it."

After looking at what we had to work with, pulling items from the shelf here and there, and collaborating on what we already had in the pantry back home, it came to us: Baked peppers, stuffed with a bouquet of yummy ingredients to channel the flavors of American Southwest cuisine. To compliment the smokiness and spice of the peppers, we decided to make a side salad that would cool the tongue and add a little extra crunch and freshness. With our mouths beginning to water, we gathered up the remaining ingredients to add to our cart and headed home.

With our knives in hand- and a little soul music for atmosphere- we got to cooking! We began by preheating our oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next we started chopping up our veggies to pan fry and cooking a box of cous cous according to the box directions. Once the veggies and cous cous were cooked, we combined them in the frying pan adding spices and cans of green chilies, corn, black beans, and tomato sauce. While the stuffing mixture continued to cook down, we cut our peppers in half the long way, and added a little bit of grated pepper jack cheese in the bottom. We stuffed the peppers with our mixture from the pan and let them cook for 20 minutes on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. 

While our peppers baked in the oven, we prepared the salad. We chopped up fresh red leaf lettuce then added some crunchy carrots and pumpkin seeds, smoothly ripe avocado chunks, and juicy gold heirloom cherry tomatoes. To contrast the spice of our main dish, we went with a cool and creamy dressing. With the tang of yogurt, the tartness of lime, and just a hint of spice, this easy to make dressing is a great compliment to any spicy dish.

Just as we finished preparing our salad, our peppers were ready to remove from the oven. With a little extra pepper jack cheese and crushed tortilla chips to garnish the top, our peppers were ready to be enjoyed!

We set our table with flowers and napkins, and of course,  a new bottle of Crispin Hard Apple Cider served over ice and honey. While the apple flavor did diverge slightly from the rest of our flavor pallet, it was a delicious enough choice for us! For us, cooking is about using what you already have, complimented by a few fresh items from the market. What we had to work with on this night was hard cider, we are not ones to leave a bottle unopened for long!

The smell and presentation of our meal intrigued a few of our housemates, and they were welcomed to share our dinner with us. Although we thought we were making a meal for two, this recipe easily could have fed three adults generously. While Diego was utterly speechless upon trying our dish, Dina fondly proclaimed, "well, this is just awesome." But don't take our word for it- in fact, don't even take Dina or Diego's word or it- try this yourself! Don't be afraid to substitute some of our ingredients for some you might like better, or whatever you have handy in your own pantry. Cooking is about experimenting with what YOU have to make a meal for YOU to enjoy. And if you can show a couple people you love in the process, by filling their bellies with something warm and delicious, all the more reason to get in the kitchen and get cookin'!

-Love Handling Food