Veggie Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
5 to 6 red, yellow, orange bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed
1 cup of Apricots, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and smashed
½ cup of Cashews, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1 red bell pepper, minced
2 shallots, diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 ¼ cups of Veggie Stock
Handful of cilantro, chopped and stems removed
½ cup of Rice
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon earth balance
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon of turmeric
½ teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place earth balance and minced pepper, shallots, cashews and celery into a large sauce pan over medium heat and sauté until tender, smashing the cashews as you sauté. Add garlic and stir. Now add the rice, spices, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and stock, bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer until rice is tender.
While rice is simmering place apricots, zucchini, chickpeas, remaining lemon juice and cilantro in a large bowl and toss to combine. Once rice is done, add to bowl and combine well.
Place cut open bell peppers in a deep large baking dish and fill each with the mixture, replace top back on, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, remove just before the peppers start to blacken. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving – Enjoy