Couscous and Feta Stuffed Peppers that actually didn't suck!

To usher out the holiday madness and usher in the season of feeling restless, unfulfilled, overweight and cold, I decided to host a post-holiday party for 7 lucky ladies and gentlemen. And I decided to cook for it. Since I lack anything resembling confidence in the kitchen, this was a stressful undertaking. But lo and behold, I think I actually made some magic happen.

The menu included Butternut Squash and Parmesan soup, Avocado and Tomato Wedge Salad with Basil, Green Beans in Ginger Butter, Two Cheese Mac N Cheese with Caramelized Shallots and the aforementioned Couscous and Feta Stuffed Peppers. Since this week's theme is Food Stuffed Inside Other Food, let's focus our attention on the peppers for now, shall we? Mmm hmmm.


I used this recipe. Step one was to cut the tops off the peppers and clean them out, and then boil them, which I thought was slightly odd. But okay. It turned out fine. After they were all boiled up, I then drained them for awhile, upside down.

In the meantime, I began preparing what I have affectionately nicknamed "the guts" for the stuffed peppers.

The recipe called for preparing the couscous in vegetable broth, which I made from scratch (pats self on back). My local supermarket sells some pre-packaged soup veggies, and I just peeled, chopped and let them simmer for awhile. (Disclosure: I made the broth a week before for some lentil soup I was making, and froze enough to use for the peppers. How Martha of me!).

So, yeah. The guts. Zucchini, yellow squash, onion, cherry tomatoes, chick peas, couscous, fennel seeds, oregano and feta...all chopped up, cooked, and mixed together into yummy, gooey, cheesy deliciousness.

Which was then spooned into my pre-boiled peppers (in Christmas colors, of course).

I prepared them the morning of the party, covered them with tinfoil and left them in the refrigerator for a few hours. Not a problem. (Phew). Then, when my pals arrived, I just removed the tinfoil and stuck the tray in the oven for fifteen minutes and voila...stuffed pepper perfection.
Make these! They totally ruled.