Eat What's on Hand: Stuffed Bell Peppers, Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup

                                             

Maybe you've been to the grocery store and found that the items you need for your recipe are missing.  A common problem these days.

My solution?  Put the ingredients you have on hand into Google and see what recipes pop up. If you are still missing ingredients? Improvise.

These stuffed bell peppers are missing onions, the called for cheddar cheese, and a few spices. I guess I could have shopped for these items, but then I wouldn't have been able to post this blog.

The result of using what I had on hand is surprisingly delicious.

RECIPE

Set oven to 400 degrees.

1.  Roast scooped out bell peppers with 1T of olive oil for 10 minutes.

2.  Sautee 1.5 lbs ground beef with spices including S&P, cumin and garlic. 

3.  Cook .5 C quinoa in 1 C vegetable broth. 

4.  When the meat and quinoa are done, add 1/2 half can of diced tomatoes.

5.  Add 1/2 C roasted tomatoes.  These are a flavor booster I make and keep on hand in the freezer.

5.  Add cubed feta cheese to taste. 

6. This mixture enabled me to stuff 4 bell peppers which I baked for another 10 minutes. The amounts can be varied depending on what you have in your kitchen.

I didn't have enough filling for the remaining two orange roasted peppers I still had on hand.  To use them,  I combined the peppers with what was left of my vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, and roasted cherry tomato mixture and made soup in my Vitamix.

My plated pepper does look lonely. I think I may see what green vegetables are on hand at the grocery to solve the problem. Complementary colors will make your presentation artistic.

For more ideas, check out my post on the Pandemic Pantry.