Recipe: beef and couscous stuffed baby bell peppers

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 15 baby sweet bell peppers (about 2 1/2 to 3 inches long, about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 2/3 cups regular or spicy 100% vegetable juice
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup uncooked whole wheat or regular couscous

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Parmesan, Monterey Jack, white Cheddar or Italian-blend cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; remove seeds and membranes, but not stem. Place peppers, cut-sides up, on two shallow-rimmed baking sheets.

Cook's Tip:Two broiler pans may be substituted for baking sheets.
Five medium bell peppers (any color), cut lengthwise into sixths may be substituted for mini peppers. Continue as directed in step 2.

Combine Ground Beef, vegetable juice, spinach, couscous, garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Spoon beef mixture evenly into peppers. Sprinkle with cheese.Bake, uncovered, in 400°F oven 25 to 30 minutes or until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pepper registers 160°F and peppers begin to brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Cook's Tip: Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed Ground Beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Nutrition information per serving, using 80% lean ground beef, 30 servings: 49 Calories; 18 Calories from fat; 2g Total Fat (1 g Saturated Fat; 1 g Monounsaturated Fat;) 12 mg Cholesterol; 99 mg Sodium; 3 g Total Carbohydrate; 0.6 g Dietary Fiber; 4 g Protein; 0.5 mg Iron; 0.8 mg NE Niacin; 0 mg Vitamin B₆; 0.3 mcg Vitamin B₁₂; 0.7 mg Zinc; 2.3 mcg Selenium; 9.2 mg Choline.

This recipe is a good source of Vitamin B12.