Recipe....?

So, I can follow a recipe, but it doesn't mean I can cook. Looking at a few recipes online, then improvising a version of the dish based on what you have in the kitchen isn't always successful, but isn't necessarily a disaster either, and sometimes it's both.

I bought peppers last time we were at the store. I never buy them because I never use them, but Karl used to make stuffed peppers and I loved them both out of the oven and as leftovers. Well, why not give it a shot?

I did a little research, then without printing a thing headed into the kitchen. I cooked up some rice with a little salt and butter, sauteed some onions and celery, scooped up some peppers, stuffed, and cooked. The results: pretty, but bland and a little gummy. Sigh.

I ate enough to make myself feel that it wasn't a total waste, offered Elliot some, which he picked at then fell asleep eating (did I mention it's blandness?), and tossed the rest in a plastic bag in the fridge.

I have been trying to do two things - eat more veggies and throw away less food - so I couldn't just get rid of it, but what to do? Sauces didn't seem the thing, but then I had an inspiration. I could do a stir fry, thus giving a chance to put flavor in and redeem myself.

Chopped up the remaining peppers, rice and all, into little bitesize bits. Tossed in skillet with hot oil and soy sauce. Threw in leftover peas from 2 nights ago. Stirred. Fried. Tasted...

I thought it was a huge improvement! I got out the chopsticks and devoured a bowl.

Elliot stuck his tongue on the fork, gagged, and refused to swallow more than one small bite.

And that was tonight's dinner at Circle K.

So, anybody got a good recipe for stuffed peppers?