Ugly, Delicious Stuffed Peppers

Being able to pull random, fresh ingredients out of your refrigerator and create a delish meal for yourself and others is the greatest thing about being in the kitchen. I have always been a little fretful while cooking, measuring out every little ingredient and worrying that I'm taking too long, stressing that whatever I make won't turn out...Or if it does turn out as expected, what if the person/people I'm cooking for hate it? Ugh, insanity certainly can take the joy out of the simplest things!

Since moving back home, I've been cooking incessantly in an attempt to mitigate the tension I feel for something so joyful and creative. I've been fortunate enough to be surrounded by girlfriends who not only like my cooking, they will let me cook them multiple meals in a day and just hang out waiting patiently to be fed. (That sounds weird in writing, my friends are not drooling hyenas). I have fallen back in love with cooking anything and everything, and it feels so good! Especially with a glass of vino in my hand.

After hiking today, I remembered I had mini sweet peppers in my fridge that were begging to be stuffed. So I got home and made my new favorite recipe, which we shall call Cheesy Mini Peppers! These are not the prettiest meal/appetizer, but they are so darn good it doesn't matter once they hit your mouth. Here's the recipe for the adventurous:

If you're semi-fast at chopping, preheat your oven to 350°F, and pour yourself a glass of Pinot Grigio (cannot be responsible for missing fingertips and such).
You can cut the tops off your peppers, remove the seeds and pith, and stuff them as one; or cut them in half to add stuffing to. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup, and lay your peppers out. Even better, if you have a mini muffin tin, you can ensure your whole peppers don't tip over!
Take two handfuls of fresh spinach (because that's how I measure things), and chiffonade (just roll the spinach and cut it into thin-ish strips). This should be about 1 cup.

Chop 1/4 of a small onion (any color) and 2-4 slices of cooked bacon (2 slices work just fine, but 4 would be divine).
Heat 1 Tbs. of EVOO into a skillet at medium heat and add onions, then minced garlic (about 1/2 Tbs), cook for about 3 minutes. Add spinach and bacon. Cook for a few more minutes until the spinach is fairly wilty, and add a little splash of Pinot Grigio if you're feeling frisky. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the spinach mixture is cooking, measure into a medium bowl 1/3 cup of cottage cheese, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, and nearly a cup of shredded cheese (I have an obscene amount of cheese in my home, so I used 1/2 Monterey Jack and 1/2 Mozzarella).

Add your spinach mixture to the cheese bowl and mix well.

Spoon your delicious spinach-cheese mixture into your peppers, and bake for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly.
Remove from oven, turn heat up to Broil, and sprinkle more shredded cheese on top of each pepper. Broil for about 3 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.
Let cool slightly and shove any runaway cheese back into those little pockets.
Eat, and try not to lose your mind!

On my last pepper, I actually considered cutting it into tiny little pieces so I could make it last forever,
like the last McDonald's french fry.