Couscous & Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers with Quick Summer Tomato Sauce

I picked up a whole bunch of rainbow colored peppers at the farmers market and knew exactly where they would end up...stuffed and in my belly! I just love stuffed peppers, they are so easy and you can fill them with whatever you have on hand, grains, cheeses and even other veggies. I like to do a combination of all three; I usually clean out my fridge and call it a meal! These particular peppers are super sweet and filled with equally sweet zucchini, onions and lots of oven roasted tomatoes...oh good gosh! I added in some whole wheat couscous to hold everything together, plus it happens to be one of my favorite fillers (I am terrible at cooking rice). Then I mixed in some cheese, a little bit of pasture raised ground beef and I had every single food group covered! I like to make up a whole bunch of these babies because they freeze so beautifully and they can go with a salad, soup or a piece of crusty bread anytime of the week for a quick and incredibly healthy, home cooked meal.

This recipe makes 6 half peppers, which are 1 serving each. (you can easily double the recipe and freeze the remaining)

Ingredients

3 Large organic bell peppers, any color.

2 Cups whole grain couscous, cooked.

2 Cups quick summer tomato sauce (see recipe at the end), if it is not summer I recommend using a favorite jarred sauce.

1/2 Cup parmesan cheese, grated.

1 1/2 Cups pasture raised mozzarella cheese, grated.

1/2 lb pasture raised ground beef

1 Small, organic zucchini, diced.

1 Small organic onion, diced.

2 Cloves organic garlic, minced or grated.

1/3 Cup mixed, fresh, organic Italian herbs, chopped. My mixture had thyme, rosemary, oregano and basil, leaves only and all chopped finely.

2 Tbsp olive oil

Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste.

Fresh organic chives, finely chopped to serve, optional.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds and ribs carefully, I use my hands. Cut the peppers in half and set them aside.

In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil and cook the ground beef with some pepper and salt till browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and turn the heat down to medium and add in another tbsp of olive oil. Saute the onion, zucchini and garlic till browned and softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef back in and stir to combine. Turn off the heat.

In a large bowl combine the veggies, meat, couscous, 1/2 cup parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, herbs and 1/2 cup of the oven roasted tomato sauce. Stir well to combine everything.

Fill the peppers with the mixture, they may overflow this is fine, just use up all the mixture. Spread 1/2 cup of the oven roasted tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish and place the peppers in the dish. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly, browned and the peppers are easy to pierce with a knife. Remove from the oven to cool slightly before serving.

To serve, heat up the remaining sauce and serve over top of the warm peppers with a bit of the pan drippings and a snip of chives. Enjoy!

Quick Summer Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

6-8 Organic roma tomatoes, boiled a few minutes to remove the skin and squished with your hands to break up.
1 Small organic onion, diced.
4 Cloves, organic garlic, minced or grated.
1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 Cup fresh, organic basil, leaves only, chopped.
1 Tbsp fair trade, raw cane sugar.
Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste.

Directions

Heat a sauce pan over medium low heat, with the olive oil. Add in the onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes till soft. Add in the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the basil, sugar, salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste for additional seasoning. This sauce only tastes amazing when you are able to use summer tomatoes.