Bulgar stuffed peppers

I was eating alone last night. Al had a very late lunch and was intending to just pick through his leftovers later. I on the other hand needed sustenance. As Al wasn't eating with me it gave me the chance to make something using ingredients he doesn't eat! Cunning, hey?

I had some bell peppers in the fridge and decided that stuffed peppers would be the way forward. I chose a vegetarian meal as it fits in nicely with my diet at the moment and I had plenty of veg sitting in the fridge waiting to be used up. This can easily be adapted to suit your own tastes and whatever veg you have in the fridge.

Ingredients
4 large bell peppers
4 tbsp cottage cheese
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 of a butternut squash finely chopped
6 or 7 chestnut mushrooms finely chopped
100ml vegetable stock
1/2 a tin of chopped tomatoes
A handful of bulgar wheat
A handful of spinach

Method:
1.Preheat the oven to 180C, cut the tops off the peppers and retain them. Remove any seeds and membrane from inside. Place the hollowed peppers in a baking dish and place a tbsp of cottage cheese in each.

2. In a saucepan, sweat the onions and garlic in a little oil until soft but not browned. Add the squash and mushrooms and sweat those off too.

3. Add the tomatoes and a little vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Stir in the bulgar wheat and allow to simmer for around 10-15 minutes until the wheat is cooked and the liquid has reduced. Stir in the spinach until wilted.

4. Pack the mixture into the peppers (I like to grate on a little cheddar cheese here). Put the tops on the peppers and bake in the oven for around 25-30 minutes or until the peppers have softened.

I had two peppers on their own and found them very filling. You could always serve these with salad and some grilled chicken if you're not vegetarian. As mentioned above, this recipe is endlessly customisable.