what to make when the cupboard is bare

full time work and school schedules make grocery shopping next to impossible, unless you like perusing the harsh fluorescent lit aisles at 11:30 at night.

last night we began cooking dinner at 9 pm, and neither of us had the motivation to take a trip to the gro sto. were forced to be creative, since we were running low on a lot of things, except a few staples we had stocked in the pantry and two whole red peppers. the result of our iron-chef level of creativity was delicious!

stuffed red peppers with rice, raisins, and cashews

ingredients:

2 whole red peppers

1 1/2 c. rice

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

hadful cilantro

1/4 c. raisins

1/4 c. cashews

olive oil

juice of 1 lime

salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder to taste

method

remove caps from red peppers. slice in half lengthwise and remove seeds. brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill on grill pan, about 5 minutes on each side. (put a lid on top of the pepper to push them down and get some nice lookin' grill lines as well). remove from heat, set aside.

cook rice. in large skillet, saute diced onion in a little bit of olive oil. add garlic when onion becomes soft and begins to brown. add rice and continue to saute, adding lime juice to pick up any rice or onion that might have become stuck to the bottom of the pan.

add spices, more lime juice, raisins and cashews. continue to saute another 5 minutes. toss in a handful of chopped cilantro (we have a ton that we needed to harvest from the aerogarden! yum... fresh herbs!!!)

fill each half of the pepper with a generous amount of the rice. serve immediately, with one more squeeze of lime juice. add crumbled feta on top, if you're feeling frisky (and you're not vegan).