Gotta Love Those Leftovers

I'm continually amazed at the quick meals one can throw together with a well stocked fridge. Using leftovers in creative ways to produce another meal is not only time saving and economical but an adventure as well.

Opening the veggie bin, I noticed two large sweet bell peppers; one yellow, one red. I had bought them for salads or to serve with hummus as an appetizer, but hadn't used them over the weekend and I didn't want to let them get old.

The shelves of the fridge held several containers of leftovers. Mahogany rice, fresh corn kernels and about a cup of chunky marinara sauce. Having rich, chewy rice already cooked clearly called out, "Stuffed Peppers", plus I had the added bonus of some savory sauce already made.

I washed, seeded and deveined the peppers, then cut them in half from north to south. I placed the rice (about 1 1/2 cups) in a large mixing bowl, tossed in the raw corn kernels (maybe 1/3 cup) I used what I had and it turned out to be just right.

The brown and yellow mix looked as if it could use a colorful pick me up, so I washed two big hands full of baby spinach, sliced it up (chiffonade) and tossed it with the rice and corn adding two generous teaspoons of a spicy hot tomato/chipotle salsa. I like things spicy. This hit of heat is optional.

I scooped the stuffing into the pepper halves, packed it down , mounding a bit on the top. Then I stretched the scant cup of sauce with a little water, spooned a bit over each pepper half and then drizzled the remainder into the bottom of the shallow sauté pan.

The covered pan went into a 350° oven for about 40 minutes. I removed the cover and let the peppers bake for another 10 minutes.

Fat free, fast and easy, another tasty nutritional powerhouse.