Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers

• Salt
• 1/3 cup couscous
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces ground beef 
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce 
• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 8 dried apricots, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
• 4 green bell peppers (about 6 1/2 oz. each), tops sliced off, seeded and cored 

Preparation

1. 1. Bring 1/2 cup lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in couscous. Cover, remove from heat and let stand until water has absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff couscous lightly with a fork and re-cover. In a small bowl, combine cumin, cinnamon, sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt.
2. 2. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about 1 minute. Add beef and cook, stirring and breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add onion and ginger and cook, stirring, until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes longer. Sprinkle cumin mixture over beef and sauté for 1 minute.
3. 3. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, chickpeas and apricots. Stir well, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Remove from heat and stir in couscous.
4. 4. Preheat oven to 375°F and mist an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. If peppers don't stand upright, cut a tiny slice off bottoms of peppers to level. Stuff peppers with meat mixture; place them in baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup water into baking dish, cover with foil and bake until peppers are tender when pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes.

I got this recipe from All You magazine.  It has a nice flavor.  One pepper is enough for a meal.  It is filling and more food than it looks.  

Megan-4/5

Jesse-4/5