So Many Dishes

Spring training has begun, I always look forward to college baseball and softball games in the spring, and Ken gave me a baseball glove for Christmas, so one of these days I need to break it in with some pitch-and-catch in the yard. I’m better at catching than hitting a baseball, but I’m definitely batting 1.000 in choosing new recipes.

We went back-to-back nights trying recipes from Ten to Try. This time, it was the spanakopita stuffed peppers. They were a bit more involved than the egg roll bowls the night before, but definitely worth the time and effort.

The recipe is from Cooking Light/Eating Well. I tore it out of one of the Cooking Light special issues that are all they publish now, but I discovered that it’s also on the Eating Well website. My concern, when I looked at the recipe, was whether it was going to actually make four servings. It calls for slicing the peppers in half and filling them, rather than stuffing whole peppers. Ken was definitely worried when I said I was only using two peppers, since he was anticipating leftovers. As it turned out, the stuffed pepper halves were quite filling. While they baked, I sautéed some zucchini with onions and diced tomatoes, seasoned with some Penzey’s Greek seasoning. It turned into a tasty vegetarian meal.

I made minimal changes to the recipe. I pressed the garlic, rather than grating it. The directions also call for rubbing the peppers with some of the olive oil before stuffing. The oil container I keep next to the stove has a sprayer, as well as a pour spout, and I put the sprayer to use here. Very convenient, and certainly less messy. As far as making changes the next time I cook this, I would consider increasing the dill. I’ll also probably drain some of the liquid from the cooked spinach. There wasn’t a lot, but the filling seemed just a bit runny to me. There will definitely be a next time, certainly based on the way both Ken and I ended up in the clean plate club 😄

Spanakopita Stuffed Peppers

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped shallot
• 2 (6-oz.) bags baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove, grated or pressed
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 colored bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet (my wok pan worked perfectly for this step) over medium-high heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 1 minute. Add spinach in batches and cook, stirring, until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Add dill, parsley, garlic, and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a large bowl.

Rub the bell peppers evenly with remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle evenly with the salt.

Stir ricotta and feta into the spinach mixture. Spoon mixture evenly into the peppers, and top each with 1 tablespoon of mozzarella.

Place peppers in a baking dish, and bake in preheated oven until peppers are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 4 servings.

This was a really satisfying dinner. Cheese lover that I am, this was right up my alley. Neither of us needed a starch with the dish. The zucchini worked quite well as a throw-together side. I think Ken and I are both looking forward to eating the leftovers tonight.

Happy eating!