stuffed peppers.

For a delicious & creative alternative to salad, make this simple stuffed pepper as a side dish to accompany chicken, fish or beef.

Start with 4 peppers. I usually use red, but orange or yellow work too because of their sweetness.
Cut the top off and hollow out all of the seeds.

2 cups brown rice, cooked
1/2 c spinach, chopped
1/4 c tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 artichoke hearts (canned ones work fine)
1/2 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix rice and all the vegetables, garlic and chickpeas into a bowl. Scoop into the hollowed out pepper, until the filling reaches the top.
Place peppers in a heat resistant baking tray, and drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Cover with tin foil, and bake for about 30 minutes, checking every so often.

Bake until pepper gets golden and starts softening.

*For cheese lovers, add a sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top of the filling before baking.