Greek Stuffed Peppers

A delicious steamed bell pepper with orzo, spinach and feta cheese. This recipe is worth saving! They are full of flavor AND good for you! Regular orzo can be replaced for the whole-wheat if you can’t find it. Also, I normally use yellow or red bell peppers, but the ones in the store yesterday were pretty funky, so I went with green. Use whatever color you prefer. Also, make sure to take your steamed peppers out of the microwave to cool when they are done cooking, I made the mistake of leaving them in the microwave and they continued steaming until they were mushy. Luckily I split my peppers into two dishes, so I still had some that weren’t destroyed, but learn from my mistake and get them out! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers (any color)
1/2 cup whole-wheat orzo
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic; minced
8 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, (not oil-packed), chopped
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Halve peppers lengthwise through the stems, leaving the stems attached. Remove the seeds and white membrane. Place the peppers cut-side down in a large microwave-safe dish. Add 1/2 inch water, cover and microwave on High until the peppers are just softened, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool slightly, drain and set aside.

2. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

3. Mash chickpeas into a chunky paste with a fork, leaving some whole.

4. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add spinach and oregano and cook, stirring, until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in the orzo, chickpeas, 1/2 cup feta, tomatoes, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt; cook until heated though, about 1 minute. Divide the filling among the pepper halves and sprinkle each pepper with some of the remaining 1/4 cup feta.

Serves 4

Adapted from Eating Well.

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