Recipe: Slow Cooker Couscous-Stuffed Peppers

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 large green peppers
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 can (12 ounces) tomato paste + 1 can water (or you could use one 15 oz. can tomato sauce, I used what I had on hand)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (depends on how hot you want it)
• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1/2 cup water (to go on bottom of slow cooker to cook the peppers)

Optional:  shredded cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS:

Cut stem end of each bell pepper to remove top of pepper. Remove seeds and membranes; rinse peppers.

In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in tomato paste (or sauce), cumin, salt, cinnamon and red pepper. Stir in couscous. Divide beef mixture evenly among peppers.

Pour water into slow cooker then stand peppers upright in cooker.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 6-7 hours or until peppers are tender.

Garnish with shredded cheese (or hot sauce).

Bought this at Aldi, but it can be found at your local grocery store probably by the rice (or you could use rice):

Don’t waste the top of the peppers! I cut them up and stored them for another dinner I was going to make! Or you could put them in with your meat in the peppers!

Adapted from Betty Crocker