Lentil Stuffed Green Peppers

I had been thinking about stuffed peppers for a while, and since we had some extra green peppers, I thought I would give them a try. The next questions was what kind of filling should I use? I decided that I did not want to use a filling that was primarily meat, although I was not completely set on eliminating meat from the filling. I thought about maybe using a rice filling when I remembered a bag of lentils that I had been wanting to use. Now that I had a filling, I just had to figure out how to flavor the filling. I figured that I could use some type of herb along with the lentils to give them some flavor. I decided on basil, which got me thinking about tomatoes. Fortunately, I had some of those around, so I used them. Fresh would likely taste better, but since it's winter, canned would have to do! I also threw in some onion for additional flavor. Even though I used celery seed, I'm not sure if it really added much, and if I were making this dish again, I probably wouldn't use any. Finally, I couldn't help but add some grated cheese on top!

Lentil Stuffed Green Peppers

by CJ Huang

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
		1/2 cup		dried lentils
		2 cups		water
		1/2 teaspoon		basil, dried
			2	bell peppers, halved and seeded
			1.5	onions, chopped
		1/4 teaspoon		celery seed	or 2 stalks celery, chopped
	14.5 ounces		1 can	tomatoes, undrained
		1/4 teaspoon		pepper, ground
		1 tablespoon		oil
				cheese, grated	I used sharp cheddar.

Methods:

1. Bring lentils, water, and basil to a boil, simmer until tender, then drain.
2. Heat oil in pan, and cook onion until translucent.
3. Add celery seeds (or celery), and stir together with tomatoes, lentils, and pepper.
4. Stuff peppers with mixture and top with cheese. (I forgot to put the cheese on before baking, so I put it on after. Either way works.)
5. Bake until tender and cheese melted.