Need vegetarian holiday
recipes for snacking and meals? Stacey Adams is back with her own Sweet Pepper
Poppers recipe. Their bright colors and cheesy topping are perfect for holiday
parties and football snacks! Whether you’re into Deepak Chopra and the ancient Ayurveda
healing system or just looking for delicious hot food to warm your bones and celebrate
the season, you’ll love these. Happy Holidays! <3 - Belinda
Hi all! This is another
cold weather treasure that makes for awesome snacks on a football Sunday or a
meal by itself. The ingredients in this recipe are mostly Tri-doshic friendly
from an Ayurvedic standpoint. There are some potentially heating aspects of this
vegetarian holiday recipe that might aggravate Pitta a bit; however, on a cold,
blustery day in December, you can aggravate my Pitta anytime. :) So, here it
is!
Sweeeet Pepper Poppers!!!
Ingredients:
12 Mini Sweet Peppers
They come in all the
gorgeous red, yellow and orange colors of bell peppers, but are small and
skinny. Unlike similarly shaped sharps, they are sweet and mellow.
1 cup fresh spinach
1 cup freshly prepared
(already cooked) couscous.
Note: 1/4 cup dry
couscous makes about 1 cup cooked. If making from a box, save the leftovers for
salads. It's delicious! Quinoa can be used, but I like the smaller size of
couscous granules for this particular recipe.
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup celery, chopped
small
1/4 cup carrots shredded
and lightly steamed
1/3 lb. crumbled and
browned tofu
Or ground and browned
turkey - I have some hard-core carnivores here. :)
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup shredded cheddar
cheese
1 small bunch parsley (optional,
but sweet)
2 pinches sea salt
2 Tablespoons sunflower
or walnut oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
ground black pepper corn
to taste
I mill it straight onto
the top of the finished product before popping in the oven.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350
degrees.
Slice peppers lengthwise
and remove seeds.
Note: I like to keep the
2 halves together by not cutting through the other side. Just cut a slit big
enough to open the pepper and take out the seeds. :)
Place the peppers on a
baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Heat the garlic, salt,
celery and oil in a pan. Sauté for a couple minutes. Add the spinach to the pan
and cook until wilted, but still a lovely green.
Spoon the sautéed mix
into the prepared couscous. Add in the steamed carrots, tofu (or turkey),
yogurt, turmeric and most of the cheese.
Note: Keep a Tablespoon
or two aside to sprinkle on top of the peppers after they come out of the oven
for a little "cheese cap". This also serves to hide the veggies on
the "inside" of the peppers for the picky, anti-veggie crowd. It’s a Mom
trick. ;)
Stir up the couscous mix
to evenly distribute everything.
With a teaspoon, spoon
the mix into each of your little peppers. Be generous, but try not to overflow
the little guys. Sprinkle your ground peppercorn on top.
Pop into the oven for 50
minutes.
Sprinkle remaining
cheese on top for last couple minutes of baking, if "cheese caps" are
desired.
Upon removal from the
oven, garnish the tops by sinking little parsley florets into the tops of the
stuffing. Be careful. They will be hot. Place the peppers on a serving tray,
and garnish the empty spaces with a few more parsley florets. (It's all about
the presentation, donchaknow?)
Report: The entire plate
of 12 was gone in 15 minutes, including the plate I used to take the picture. You
might want to double or triple this vegetarian holiday recipe. ;)
Happy Holidays and Healthy Eating, everyone. Stay warm! <3 –
Stacey
Guest blogger Stacey Adams is
a Bodyworker, Healer, Herbal formulator, Perpetual student and Mom. She is also
the owner and operator of The Woman of the Woods Health Portal. Connect with Stacey on G+. For more information
on the Ayurveda healing system, see her post, What
is "Ayurveda" Anyway?
Visit Stacey’s previous guest
post, Pan-tastic
Potato Supper.
