After a long week of making lunches and eating dinners, my fridge was starting to get a little out of hand. Whenever I have a-little-bit-of-this and a-little-bit-of-that left over at the end of the week, I find the easiest and most delicious way to use up leftovers is to make some stuffed peppers. This time, some brown rice (surplus from a stir-fry), diced onions and some Cotija cheese (all that remained of taco night) and zucchini (from a summer squash and bean stew I made for lunch) came together with a few additional ingredients to make the stuffing. Remember, this is less of a recipe and more of a suggestion — there are endless ways to make this dish your own!

Ingredients:
4 bell peppers
1/2 – 3/4 cups cooked rice
2 chorizo sausages
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 zucchini, diced
2 tomatoes, seeded & diced
1 small can peas
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup Cotija cheese
olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Slice the tops off the bell peppers, carefully remove the seeds and ribs from the inside and set both the tops and bottoms of the peppers aside. Remove the casings from the chorizo and crumble the meat into a pan on medium high heat. Once the sausage has started cooking and rendering some fat, add the onions, garlic, and zucchini and saute until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the diced tomatoes and peas, season the mixture with cumin and pepper and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, chorizo and vegetable mixture, and the cheese. Spoon the filling into the bell peppers, place the top back on and secure with a few toothpicks. Place the stuffed peppers in a baking dish, drizzle the outsides with olive oil, and roast in the oven for about 15-25 minutes.

Serves 4