Orzo Stuffed Peppers

At some point last year, I used to eat my breakfast every single morning while watching the Food Network. Somehow, it always worked out that I would watch Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. Her recipes were definitely interesting, and sound delicious, but most times they seemed to complicated despite her ease of execution on camera. However, one morning I watched her prepare bell peppers stuffed with a mixture of orzo and vegetables, and thought to myself that I can do such a recipe.

This inspiration came to me over a year ago, but I have only recently perfected the recipe. Originally, I prepared the recipe just as Giada had written it, substituting only the mint for basil because I don`t like mint. Each time I made the peppers, I changed a little bit more until I finally found the best combination. Now, I am extremely pleased with the taste of the peppers and the dish has become a family favorite.

In the past, one of my biggest problems with this dish was the amount of stuffing I was always leftover with. However, now I have come up with a great solution to my problem based on a recent recipe I tried out. Similar to the idea of poaching eggs in a tomato sauce, I simply heated up the extra stuffing with all of its juices in a frying pan, let it reduce to a thickened consistency, and then poached some eggs in it. It tasted great and made for a wonderful breakfast together with some pita for dipping. If you find that he excess stuffing doesn`t have enough liquid, add some tomato juice to it and then reduce over low heat.

Orzo Stuffed Peppers

• 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes
• 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dill, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth (usually one carton from the store works out to be 4 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups orzo
• Bell Peppers (use as many as you like, usually the recipe can make stuffing for 12-15 medium sized peppers)

1. Slice the tops off of the peppers and place in a baking dish. If the peppers can't stand up on their own, slice a little off of their bottoms so that they are flat. Also, I don't like for the tops to go to waste so I cut off any excess flesh and use it in the stuffing.
2. Combine all the vegetables, herbs, and spices in a bowl. For the tomatoes, its easiest to break them down by crushing them gently with your hands. An alternative is to use canned diced tomatoes instead of whole, but I find that more juice comes with the whole tomatoes.
3. Bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes; it should still be al dente when you take out the orzo.
4. Transfer the warm chicken broth to the baking dish and add the orzo to the vegetable mix.
5. One by one, fill up the peppers with the stuffing and stand up right in the baking dish.
6. Bake the stuffed peppers, covered with aluminum foil, for 45 minutes.
7. Sprinkle some feta cheese of top of the peppers and continue to bake, uncovered, for 15 more minutes.