My new favorite food is hands down, Barley-stuffed peppers! It is easy and pretty fast to make. I found the recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens 365 vegetarian meals book.
To cut the amount of sodium in this recipe I do not use the vegetable bouillon cube, and omit the water. I make my own veg. broth and use that to cook the barley. To make your own veg. broth save the scraps from vegetables such as carrots (the peel and the ends) onion skins, broccoli stems, summer squash ends, mushroom stems, leek ends and parts not used, etc. and boil them in water for about 20 minutes, discard the vegetables and you have home made broth. I do not add any salt and just add salt to whatever it is I'm cooking as it's needed.
The barley adds a meaty texture to the stuffed pepper which for me substitutes for the stuffed pepper of my youth my mother used to make, which was usually made with ground pork, rice and other ingredients.
The Ingredients
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup water
2/3 cup quick-cooking barley
1/2 of a veg. bouillon cube
2 large red, yellow and or green pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup, chopped tomato
3/4 cup shredded low fat mozz. cheese
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/3 cup soft bread crumbs
1 tblspn. fresh basil or 1/2 tspn. dried basil crushed
1 tspn. fresh rosemary or 1/8th spn, dried
1/4 tspn. onion salt (if you don't have this you can chop red onions very small and add them to the mixture when adding the cheese, tomato, etc.) then add regular salt to the mixture
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan combine mushrooms, water, bouillon cube and barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until barley is tender; drain.
Meanwhile, halve sweet peppers lengthwise, remove the core, seeds and membranes. Combine egg, tomato,1/2 cup of cheese, zucchini,bread crumbs, basil, rosemary, and onion salt.
Stir in cooked barley mixture. Place peppers cut side up, in an ungreased 2 quart rectangular baking dish. Spoon barley mixture into peppers.
Bake, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until barley mixture is heated through. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for about 2 more minutes more or until cheese melts.
I have to say that I add some prepared spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan and then add the peppers. Then I also have some of the sauce on hand to put on top of the peppers in case we feel like adding it.
Depending on how big your peppers are you might have some left over mixture, I usually do, so I make more stuffed peppers than the 4 halves the recipe says. Left overs are good for lunch the next day.
