Crock Pot Peppers

Another {meatless} Monday is upon us!  Today's recipe comes from America's favorite entertainer, decorator, gardener, ex-con,  and foodie; Martha Stewart.  This recipe came from the Living magazine, but when I clicked on her website she's featuring a section on going meatless!  Get with the trend people!  Everyone's doing it!  I'll have to check the section for some future dinner inspiration.

On to the recipe of the day.  Greek Stuffed Peppers... made in the crock pot!  I have strong feelings of infatuation for Zac Effron Mr. Crock Pot.  A bit of quick prep in the morning and by the end of the day the house is smelling delicious and you have dinner ready and waiting!  I've always done stuffed peppers in the oven, so I was interested to see how they'd do in the ol' crock. 

There is one very serious stipulation to this recipe: you must find peppers that will sit up in the crock.  I wanted to use red peppers, but the ones at the farmer's market were all really long and skinny... and they wouldn't have stood on their own.  Green peppers it is. 

The greenies were the perfect shape for the crock and stayed together quite nicely... until I tried to take one out.  The sides collapsed and the filling oozed out everywhere. 

Oopsy Daisy!

Drew's "stuffed" pepper mush.

Use care when removing from the crock!

The first bite.

Here's a tip I learned in my Foods class: The first rule of meal planning is "know your audience".  These peppers were tasty, but they had a whole cup of feta cheese in the mix.  Drew isn't a fan of feta.  Duh.  That was a dumb mistake.  He was a trooper and made it through half the pepper.  Oh, the things he does for love!

I loved the way these cooked up and will definitely use the crock pot again for doing stuffed peppers!  However, I would definitely use red or yellow peppers with this recipe if I were to do it again... and I'd find a different filling for Drew's peppers.  Oh!  And about half way through my pepper I decided it was lacking something.  I added some chopped almonds on top for a bit of crunch.  Very nice.

Greek Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 4 large bell peppers (mine were huge)
• 1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup crumbled feta (not if you are Drew)
• 1/2 cup couscous
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Course salt and freshly ground pepper
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Method

• Slice the tops of the peppers off.  Discard stems, ribs, and seeds.  Chop pepper tops and place in a medium bowl.
• Add beans, feta, couscous, scallions (whites), garlic, and oregano to the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stuff peppers with bean mixture.
• Place peppers upright in crock pot.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours (I did low for 6 hours). 
• Sprinkle peppers with scallion greens; serve with lemon wedges.

I don't know if the lemon was just supposed to be for show, but I squeezed it on top.  And added chopped almonds.  Delish.

Happy {meatless} Monday!