Orzo Stuffed Peppers

We love these peppers. It's like Christmas morning when you open them up and see the treasure of gooey goodness that spills out. You can stuff the peppers with pretty much anything but we chose to do orzo (a rice-shaped pasta) here.



Orzo Stuffed Peppers
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes
1 zucchini squash, grated
1 yellow squash, grated
2 large scallions, chopped
1/2 cup cheese, plus more for sprinkling, grated (we used vegan mozzarella but you can use anything. The original recipe calls for Romano)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups orzo (try and use whole wheat if you can)
6 sweet bell peppers (red, orange and yellow)
Basil for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl and break them into pieces with your fingers. Add the zucchini, yellow squash, scallions, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. Drain the orzo through a sieve, reserving the broth. Stir in the orzo with the vegetables. Transfer the vegetable broth to a 9x13 baking pan.

Slice the tops off each pepper and with a spoon or your fingers remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.

Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Place the peppers in the baking dish with the veggie broth. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle each pepper with some cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 more minutes. You can garnish them with basil if you want.

Left-over peppers store well in a tupperware in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave!

Serves 6.