Moroccan Stuffed Peppers, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Yesterday, it really started to feel like autumn to me. I decorated the house with pumpkins, took my daughter outside to play in the leaves and I've started drinking pumpkin tea. At some point we're going to carve the pumpkins and roast their seeds for snacking. Anyway, I wasn't sure what to make for dinner. The ground beef was thawed and ready to use. I was leaning towards some kind of Middle Eastern stuffed pastry of some sort, until I remembered that I had bell peppers to use. So, naturally, I went with stuffed peppers. In the past, I never really cared for stuffed peppers. It wasn't until I started pre-cooking the peppers that I began to love them. My least favorite thing about bell peppers is their water content and pre-cooking them takes a lot of the liquid out.

Kitchen Tip: Pre-cook the peppers to remove excess water.

Moroccan Stuffed Peppers

Serving Size = 4

• 2-3 large bell peppers, cut in half down the middle (seeds removed)
• 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef (lean)
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of coriander
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, cut into small wedges
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 cup of lentils in 2 cups of water
• Pinch of cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cut the peppers in half, salt them and pre-cook them for about 20 minutes until water starts to pool inside. Remove from oven, dump the water out and set aside.
3. Add some oil to a large pan and saute the onions over medium for a few minutes. Add the ground beef and stir. Add all of the spices, salt and pepper (not the cinnamon and cilantro though). Cook until the meat is almost done, then add the tomatoes and cilantro. 
4. Cook the lentils in the water with a pinch of cinnamon over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Drain and add to the beef mixture.
5. Fill each pepper with the meat/lentil mixture and bake for around 20 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the flavors blend.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Original Recipe from the blog Louanne's Kitchen

• 1 lb of fresh brussels sprouts, trimmed and cleaned
• 2 tablespoons of oil (original recipe, extra virgin olive oil)
• Kosher salt (I like mine salty like fries)

*Note: You might notice that my picture doesn't match the recipe in quantity. I only made enough for 2 people, but I wish I made more. They were delicious, especially the brown crunchy outer leaves! :)

1. Preheat oven to 400F (original recipe, 450F, but I already had peppers in the oven at 400F).
2. Toss the brussels sprouts in oil and salt. 
3. Spread out onto a baking dish. Cook for about 30 minutes, tossing from time to time.

Linking to: Hearth and Soul, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.