I recently made these stuffed bell peppers with an exciting lemon twist! The great thing about this recipe is you can adapt it with ~any~ produce you have leftover in your fridge. Makes an awesome meal and saves you a trip to the store!

Ingredients:

• 4 bell peppers
• 1.5 cups of couscous (or rice, quinoa)
• any veggies you have in your fridge (I used onions, carrots, and broccoli)
• 0.5 lb ground beef, turkey, or chicken (optional)
• 0.5 cup lemon juice
• olive oil
• salt, pepper, garlic powder
• parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Cook couscous according to instructions on package. Use chicken or beef stock instead of water for extra flavor!
3. Start by slicing your bell peppers in half and cleaning out the seeds inside. Then lightly rub them in olive oil and bake in a skillet or glass pan for 12 minutes.
4. While peppers are cooking, start to sauté the items for the filling in a large skillet. Start with meat, onions, and other veggies that take longer to cook, season to taste.
5. Once meat is cooked and veggies are soft, lower heat and mix in couscous and 1/2 cup of lemon juice, then season to taste.
6. After bell peppers have cooked, pull them out of the oven and fill with your meat and couscous mixture.
7. Bake for 12 minutes, then briefly remove from oven
8. Top with shaved or grated parmesan cheese (other cheeses work well too) and put back in oven on broil until cheese is golden on top.
9. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before enjoying.

~contributed by Chelsea Fries~