Stuffed Peppers-- It's What's For Dinner!

Tonight I made stuffed peppers, based on a recipe in this month's Real Simple Magazine (shout out to the brother-in-law and sister-in-law, my Real Simple subscription benefactors!!)

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Next, the recipe calls for 1/2 pound of ground beef (browned) and a 1/2 cup of couscous for the stuffing. I substituted saffron (aka yellow) rice for the couscous and I used a bit more than 1/2 pound of ground beef.

I sauteed the ground beef and added "summer savory" seasoning (Dean & Deluca), salt, pepper, a touch of coriander and one diced Italian sweet pepper. Once the beef was browned I took it off of the stove and added in the saffron rice. I also added feta cheese crumbles (as per the Real Simple recipe), dried cherries and dried apricots (sliced).

I then cut the tops off of four large peppers (yellow, orange and red) and removed the seeds from the insides. Once the peppers were prepped I stuffed them with the filing. I topped the peppers with a bit of marinade (Wegman's "Mojo" marinade, which is basically an orange-based citrus marinade) and a drizzle of olive oil. Cover the peppers and bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until the peppers are tender.

I served them with a spring mix salad (with balsamic vinaigrette, mandarin oranges, dry roasted almonds, dried cranberries and golden raisins).

We also had a ciabatta baguette and President Brie.

Finish off by watching "Mamma Mia!" and you've got a fine Mediterranean-esque dinner!