Orzo Stuffed Bell Peppers

Last week I tried making these orzo stuffed bell peppers and loved them! They weren't too hard to make, were extremely delicious, and were actually pretty low in calories. How, may you ask, would I know that? I discovered an awesome app where I can input all of the ingredients in a particular recipe and it will calculate how many calories are in one serving. It's awesome! Any guesses on calories for an orzo stuffed bell pepper? 250 calories! Not too bad. So here are a few pictures and the recipe. Yum.
Orzo Stuffed Bell Peppers
Two Peas and Their Pod

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped
1 (28 ounce can) can diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, plus more for sprinkling on top
1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for sprinkling on top
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
6 sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange)

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

2. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for two more minutes. Stir in the spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat.

3. Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and stir in the spinach mixture. Set aside.

4. Meanwhile, bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook for five minutes. The orzo should be only partially cooked because it will finish cooking in the oven. Strain the orzo pasta, making sure you save the vegetable broth.

5. Stir the orzo into the tomato spinach mixture. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the basil.

6. Pour the vegetable broth into a 3-quart baking dish. Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base so the peppers will stand up in the baking dish.

7. Place the peppers in the baking dish and spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40- 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with additional cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven and let peppers sit for five minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 6 stuffed peppers