Stuffed Peppers (CSA Week 11)

The purple peppers in this week's CSA screamed to be used for something special.  I almost went with Joanne and Meghan's suggestion for a curry before it dawned on me-- I should make stuffed peppers!  Even better, I could use some other items from my CSA and pantry, a win-win given my impending move.

Stuffed Peppers
Yield:  4-5 stuffed peppers

4-5 peppers (the bigger the better)
1 small onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 summer squash, diced
1-2T extra virgin olive oil
~1/2c frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
~1/2c frozen corn, thawed
1 package of sprouted brown rice (or 1c of your favorite grain)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes (mine were roasted w/chipotle)
seasonings (ex:  s/p, cumin, oregano, hot sauce...)
1/2c grated cheddar (or more, I used grass-fed New Zealand cheddar)

Preheat oven to 400deg.

Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat.  Add onion, and cook 3-4min, until translucent. Add zucchini and summer squash, stir and cook until soft and starting to brown.  Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes.

Wash your peppers and cut them in half.  Remove stem, ribs and seeds and set in a square pan with sides so they don't roll around.

In a large bowl, add spinach, corn, rice, chickpeas, diced tomatoes and cooled veggies.  Mix well, taste and add seasonings.  I went with a little salt, freshly ground pepper, and a few shakes of ground cumin.  Stir again and then stuff your pepper halves.  Top each pepper with ~2T grated cheese.

Bake for 20-25min, until cheese is melted and peppers cooked through (you can test them with a knife).

CSA items used: 3 (peppers, summer squash, zucchini)
Pantry items used: 5 (corn, spinach, brown rice, chickpeas, diced tomatoes)

Pantry items left:  let's not discuss that...