Sweet Italian or cubanelle peppers are some of my favorite vegetables to stuff with other vegetables. It makes an interesting and tasty side dish, which also counts for a couple of your daily servings.
It's also a good way to use up any vegetables that you have had in the fridge for a few days. I always start with chopped onions or scallions, along with diced celery and minced garlic. Get that going in a skillet with a little olive oil. Just the aroma of garlic and onions cooking is inspirational to me! Whatever you have available works in this dish. A few mushrooms, a zucchini, roasted red pepper, or even some leftover cooked vegetables diced up will do . Of course,don't forget to add a handful of spinach, fresh or frozen! When the vegetables are slightly softened, place in a mixing bowl to cool for a few minutes. Some days I add a few tablespoons of goat cheese, other days part-skim ricotta. Always grated cheese, salt, pepper, fresh parsley and/or any other herbs. Some whole wheat breadcrumbs wouldn't hurt, either. I usually buy a loaf of whole wheat Italian from the bakery and pulse it in the food processor to make my own breadcrumbs. It keeps nicely in an airtight container for a long time. I figure that bakery bread has less preservatives and other junk than packaged bread crumbs. Read the labels and see for yourself.
Cut the tops off the peppers and scoop out the seeds. Use a teaspoon to fill the peppers, all the way to the bottom if you can. Lay them in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Spray the tops of the stuffed peppers when you are done. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Once again, you can change the personality of this dish each time you make it, depending on what you have available. I always have jars of capers, kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes in the fridge. Any of these can add depth of flavor and drama to a simple vegetable dish. Be sure to use these sparingly, as they are all quite strong flavors on their own!
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