A recent conversation about frozen meals that were staples growing up got me thinking about the fact that I’ve always wanted to make a vegetarian stuffed pepper that wouldn’t really replicate the classic from the red box, but be a satisfying winter meal.

This one is pretty simple, but can be altered to make it more complex.

Start by cooking the orzo as directed on the package.

While that’s cooking, heat up the olive oil in a frying pan, put in the minced garlic and then brown the fake meat. There are many brands of frozen ground “beef” that will all work for this. I like the Morning Star Farms one, but that isn’t vegan, so if you are vegan or are making these for vegans, I suggest the Boca crumbles or the Gimme-Lean ground beef style.

Browning this ingredient in a pan will give you a better flavor, but heating the frozen guys in the microwave will work. After both orzo and faux meat are heated up, combine them in a large bowl.

Chop the green onions very fine and shred the zucchini and mix them into the bowl.

Stir in the tomato sauce and the spices.

Cut the tops off of the peppers and clean out the seeds.

You can boil the peppers submerged in water for about four minutes to prep them, but I like them with a little more crispness in the pepper, so I skip this step.

Fill the peppers with the mixture from the bowl.

Add shredded cheese to the top or bread crumbs and margarine, then bake at 375 for about 40-45 minutes.

I had some of the stuffing left over, so I mixed it with the rest of the package of orzo and it made a pretty good side dish.

Ingredients:

4-6 bell peppers

1 12 oz package of veggie crumbles/fake ground beef

3 green onions

1 small zucchini or squash

1/2 cup uncooked orzo

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic (minced)

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Shredded cheese for top (optional)

Bread crumbs and margarine for top (optional)