So, this was a bit of a 'choose your own adventure' dinner - and i can hardly believe how well it worked out!! Stuffed Capsicums, or stuffed "peppers" as some American people would say. So...

Here's what you need:

1 cup couscous
2 cups vege stock
2 red capsicums
5 mushrooms (diced OR grated)
1 medium carrot (grated)
200g haloumi (cubed)
3 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp curry powder
approx 85g cheddar cheese (grated)
1 chilli (or 3 if they're really small....like ours.... hehehe)
2 tsp crushed garlic
olive oil

 

So, this recipe is fairly simple. After you have turned your oven on to 180 C, you can boil your vege stock; please keep approx 4 tablespoons of stock as leftover for later. Now, boiling your stock: this can either be done in a pot on the stove, or in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Once the stock is boiling, add the couscous and cover it with a lid (removed from the heat source). You may need to add extra water, depending on how fluffy you want the couscous. Now, you want to cut the capsicums in half - you can do it length ways or side ways, it depends if the capsicums can stand up or not. We found it easier to cut them like little boats. Take out the seeds/insides, and lay them out on an oven tray.

 

Next, you will combine the oil and the garlic in a small bowl and lightly brush the insides of the capsicums. From here you can slide them into the oven and let them cook slightly whilst you are preparing the stuffing. You don't want to completely cook the capsicums, just make them slightly tender. 

 

You next step is to chop up all your other ingredients and combine them into a bowl with your couscous. EASY! (Just as a side note, we made approx double the recipe so that we would have leftovers.) You will want to put HALF the grated cheese in the bowl, and still have some left over to sprinkle on the top before they go in the oven. You may need more or less grated cheddar, depending how much you like cheese... hehe. 

Alright, now your stuffing is made - so you just grab your capsicums out of the oven and start gently spooning the stuffing into the capsicum shells. You can use the back side of the spoon to push it down as you go, and don't be afraid to mound the stuffing up - they do flatten out slightly in the oven as the haloumi and the cheese melts.

 Ok, once you've stuffed your peppers, you can sprinkle on the remaining cheddar cheese. I suppose if you wanted you could also add a sprinkle of pepper at this point, but i really don't think it's needed. Now, i grabbed the little bit of leftover stock and splashed it around in the tray - just so that the capsicums can soak it up as they are cooking...

Now all there is left to do is pop them in the oven! They will probably need about half an hour on 180 C for the cheese to start browning. Don't worry if the edges of the capsicums burn a little - it tastes lovely!

 So, that's it! If you want to you can serve these with garlic bread and a glass of rose, and trust me, they are taaaaasty! Of course, you could really add or take out whatever you like from the stuffing - if there's something extra you want to add, or if there's something in there you don't like - that's why it's a choose your own adventure! They're actually really filling, thanks to the couscous, and if you keep them in an air-tight container they will keep in the fridge and can be reheated up to 4 days later. DELICIOUS!

This is truly one of my favourite meals... it's easy to make, it's not very expensive, and although it does have quite a few eggs in it, it's relatively healthy!

Ingredients:
Shitake mushrooms (as many as you like! in my case it was...many....!!!)
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk (we used soy milk)
handful of mint (chopped)
oil (you can use peanut oil, we just use olive oil)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
bamboo shoots (we used chili infused bamboo from a jar)
1 carrot (grated)
spring onion (approx 5)
1 cup bean sprouts
sweet chili sauce (approx 1 tbsp)
soy sauce (approx 2 tbsp)
fresh coriander (chopped)


Let's DO thiiiiiis:
Whisk the eggs, milk, and mint in a bowl and set aside. (HOW HARD WAS THAT!??!)

In your frying pan, cook up your spring onion, garlic, and bamboo shoots for 5 mins. Now, add your carrot, mushrooms, and sprouts. Give that another 2 mins, then you add in your sauces and the chopped coriander. Stir through until it's all heated. Now, tip this into a container or bowl and set to one side.

Put a little more oil in your pan and tip in 1/2 of your egg mixture. If you need to, tilt the pan so that the egg coats the entire inside. If you have a frying pan lid, put this on now. If you're like us, and you don't have a frying pan lid, it's time to use your ingenuity (we found a large wooden chopping board and placed it over the top of the pan to trap some of the heat in). Let this cook until it is almost completely set.


Now, spoon some of your previously cooked vegetable mixture onto half of the omelette. I'm not giong to lie, the next bit takes a bit of practice... you need to fold the omelette over to enclose the filling. It can sometimes turn out a little.... ugly... but if you have a large egg-flipper and a strong will, you can make it work! That's it, you're done! It's really up to you how much of the egg you use - you can do thinner omelettes with more filling, or thick omelettes with less filling. We usually cook up enough vegetables to store half in the fridge and have cook more then next night. Enjoy!!

Dough Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups Wholemeal Flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 sachet yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp oil

Toppings:
meatball sauce & non-meat balls

• red onion
• mushrooms (sliced)
• pumpkin
• BBQ sauce
• garlic
• cherry tomatoes
• hungarian peppers (or any kind of chilli)
• fresh basil leaves
• pizza cheese (combination of tasty cheddar and mozarella - grated)
• crumbled fetta

Let's DO EET:

So first, you will want to make the dough. Mix the water, sugar, and yeast in a cup. Leave it to the side until it's frothy (or for about 5 mins). Now, combine it with your flour, oil, and salt. Give that a mix up with a rounded-end knife, and then knead it for ten mins. Put it aside in a lightly oiled bowl and wait for it to approximately double in size. ^.^

When your dough is ready, preheat your open to 195 Celcius, and cut up your pumpkin. Cut your dough into two pieces and roll it out. While your pumpkin cooks in the oven, you will want to blind bake your pizza bases for approx 10 mins (just until they are lightly browned). Now, start with your toppings! That part is really up to you - we've listed our ingredients, but how you put it together is your call! We also added our delicious non-meatballs and meatball sauce. We put the fetta, basil, and pumpkin on last.

My own personal 'must-have' ingredient for cooking pizza:



They take about 15-20 mins to cook. They look like mountains before they go in... and they are a little tricky to cut once they are out of the oven, but absolutely worth the effort my friend!