It’s not fancy, but it’s quick and easy – and mighty tasty. Stuffed peppers are the perfect comfort food that are easy to prepare, mostly with things you already have around the kitchen. They can easily be stuffed with many leftovers you have as well – chili, stews, rice dishes, etc.
I was inspired to make these after visiting the local veg store and seeing some gorgeous bell peppers available. I bought a bunch of them, brought them home and then when “huh”. What do I do with them? I put one into a salad. One into a stir fry. One for snacking. Yet I still had 6 left. Stuff ‘em, I say!
But I also wanted to make them healthy. You see, I have been trying really, really hard to lead a healthier lifestyle – I have a cute kid, and I want to watch her grow up, and be able to do things with her. Plus, I have this crazy goal of a year or two from now running an ultra-marathon (more on that another time). So adding a filling full of hamburger and rice would pack on the calories.
I’ve been seeing the trend of “cauliflower rice” everywhere lately, and thought I would give it a go. With the cauliflower, it puts the recipe at under 500 calories per pepper. If instead, you used 1.5 cups cooked rice, you would have about 60 more calories per serving. Ok, ok…that’s not too much. But they tasted good anyway.
Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers
Not pretty, but yummy!.
From the kitchen of Eat This, Knit That.
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers (any color)
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 500 g lean ground beef, turkey, or pork.
- 1 small head cauliflower
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 2 T minced fresh oregano
- 3 T ground cumin
- 1 T chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 300 mL beef broth
- 200 g canned black beans, drained
- 150 g canned sweet corn
- 3 T concentrated tomato paste
- Handful pitted black olives, sliced
- 100 g shredded cheese (cheddar and/or jack)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
Directions
1) Preheat oven to 220°C and prepare a steam oven at 100°C or a steam basket over a pot of simmering water.2) Slice the top off of the peppers and pull our the seeds. Rub the insides with a wee bit of oil and then salt and pepper the insides. Set these upright in a muffin tin (or create a frame with foil to keep the peppers stable). Steam for 8 minutes (I used a steam oven, but a basket steamer, if deep enough, would work as well). When done steaming, set aside to cool.
3) While the peppers are steaming, break off the cauliflower florets and pulse in a food processor for a couple seconds, or until broken up and resembling rice.
4) In a pan over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of oil and the onions. Sauté until just starting to turn brown on the edges then add the garlic. After 2 minutes, add the ground meat and stir regularly until brown.
5) Add the herbs and spices to the meat mixture, followed by the broth. Stir in the tomatoes, cauliflower, corn and beans. Simmer until most of the liquid is gone, but the mixture is still moist. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6) Fill each pepper with the meat mixture 1/3 of the way full. Add a half of the olives and a pinch of cheese. Repeat with another 1/3 of the mixture, olives and cheese, and then finally top with the remaining meat mixture and cheese.
7) Bake in the oven, uncovered for 20 minutes or until nice and bubble. Enjoy!
Eat This, Knit That 