5 recipes for red bell peppers

My freezer is once again loaded with roasted red peppers in hummus-ready batches. The beautiful, sweet peppers which usually cost $3 or $4 a pound other times during the year are plentiful now. I bought a huge basket of them and my roasting efforts should come in handy over the coming months when I want to make my Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.

Now that I’m stocked up for that task, I can use the red peppers I pick up at the farmers market in the next few weeks for other dishes. Here are a few recipes that look worthy of a try. For some I can use my already roasted red peppers, and some call for fresh peppers.

1. Roasted Red Pepper and Squash Soup – Red peppers, butternut squash and pears — all in season right now — go into this pureed soup. What really catches my attention is that it’s thickened with cooked oats, adding some whole grains and extra fiber to the mix.
2. Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo Pasta – This just sounds amazing to me. Goat cheese and Parmesan are used in this Alfredo. I don’t think I’m going to get through this weekend without making it.
3. Quinoa Stuffed Red Bell Peppers – Super healthy with whole grain quinoa, carrots and red kidney beans. It’s an entire balanced meal in one.
4. Beautiful Red Bell Cocktail – I’ve never thought to use red bell peppers in a cocktail before. This cocktail starts with one of my favorite combinations, gin and fresh lime juice, and adds red bell peppers and basil.
5. Red Bell Pepper Frittata – This meatless main dish uses a combination of eggs and egg whites to make it lighter than a regular frittata and packs it full of red bell peppers, onions and couscous.