This is one of my favourite recipes! It’s fairly simple and the flavour is amazing, not to mention it’s packed full with wholesome nutritious food! This recipe is a one-stop shop as it has all of your food: grain, vegetables and protein.

I love cooking with orzo because I am not a huge fan of rice but absolutely love pasta. This is a pasta a little larger than a grain of rice. You can find it in the pasta isle at your local grocery store.

Ingredients

4 bell peppers (I used red but you can use green too!)
5 carrots, peeled and diced into small pieces (so you can fit them in your peppers)
1/2 onion, peeled and diced into small pieces (optional addition)
5-8 leaves fresh basil, chopped
1 cup orzo (whole wheat if an option)
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juice
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced into small pieces (you can make this ahead of time in the oven and when almost done start on this recipe)
salt and pepper
sprinkle of cayenne
1/2 cup feta, crumbled

Instructions

1. Prepare peppers by cutting in half and cleaning out the seeds. Bring water to a boil in a large dutch oven. Once boiling, carefully put pepper halves in the boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a dry towel and place peppers with the outside skin facing up so that they will dry.
2. Peel and chop the carrots and onion. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Add in the chicken whenever it is ready. If it is pre-cooked and cold from being refrigerated, add it now.
3. Chop basil and add to pan. Add tomatoes with juice then stir in orzo. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until orzo is tender. Stir often to ensure orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. Spray an oven-safe baking dish (I use a 9 x 13 glass dish) with cooking spray. Fill peppers one at a time with the orzo mixture and place in your dish. Continue until all peppers are full.
6. Put peppers in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Add crumbled feta and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until feta melts/begins to melt.

Enjoy!