Recipes like those we talked about last week make a great jumping off point for our own stuffed vegetable creations. Barley, quinoa, baked beans, crumbled sausage, roasted red peppers, sweet summer corn - all these have found their way into our stuffed vegetable fillings at one time or another. Here are a few of our favorites.

It’s not an exact science and takes some guess-timating, but we generally prepare 2-3 cups of filling whenever we make stuffed vegetables. We usually start with a base of about a cup of grain and add vegetables and meat to round things out. We also find that we usually need to over-season the filling a little bit or it comes out bland.

Here are some favorite combinations we’ve come up with over the years:

• Barley + Sausage + Swiss Chard
• Polenta + Pulled Pork + Sharp Cheddar
• Barley + Sautéd Mushrooms + Parmesan
• Rice + Sweet Corn + Red Peppers + Mozzarella
• Rice + Hamburger + Black Beans + Salsa + Cheddar
• Quinoa + Caramelized Onions + Ham + Gouda
• Orzo + Feta + Olives + Sun Dried Tomatoes

Do you have a favorite filling or two for stuffed vegetables?

Related: Afternoon Snack: Stuffed Sweet Piquante Peppers

(Image: Emily Ho)