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!