Stuffed Peppers • Living in Sugar

Hello & welcome to the middle of the week — that time when you ask yourself, do I really want to cook tonight? Why is it such a hassle to put something on the table?! Well I’ve got a great and EASY recipe to cure those mid-week blues. Stuffed Peppers! Easy, versatile, and down right delicious. Plus they make great left overs for lunch — now it doesn’t get much better than that! Here we go:

Here’s what you’ll need:

4 Large Bell Peppers
1 LB Ground Beef
3 C. Cooked rice
1/2 C. Salsa
1 Can Diced tomatoes with green chili
1/2 C. Onion (about half a large onion)
1/2 C. Carrot (3-4 carrots)
1/2 C. Chicken Stock
1 T Olive Oil
2 T Chili Powder
1 T Chopped Garlic
1 T Cumin
1 t. Red Pepper
1 t. coriander
2 t. salt
1 C. Shredded Cheese

Start by preheating your oven to 425ºF. Next, heat olive oil over med-high heat in a large skillet. Add the chopped onion & follow with carrots.

Cook onions and carrots until soft then add the ground beef. I used 93/7 beef (which means its 93% lean) but you can use whatever ground meat you’d like: turkey, pork, chicken. You can also substitute 2 cans of black beans for a vegetarian option if you’d like, just remember to drain & rinse them before adding them to the pan. Cook beef until almost done & then add spices & the rice:

This recipe was actually created as a way to use up some left over rice from Indian take out a few days prior. The rice makes a great filler and this is a great way to use up those leftovers!

To the rice, add the 1/2 cup of salsa (heat level — your choice) & the can of Tomatoes and diced chilies. Finally, add chicken stock (or vegetable stock — if going that direction) and mix to combine.

Lower the heat to med-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, prep your peppers by using a small knife to cut out just the stem portion leaving an open pepper for you to stuff.

Place your peppers up-right in a 8×8 baking pan & return to the stuffing. Once the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and the mixture pulls away from the pan mostly dry:

You know your stuffing is done. Simply fill your peppers up — lightly packing the filling — and place in a 425ºF oven for 15-20 minutes or until a pairing knife easily pierces the side of the pepper.

Remove the peppers from the oven & turn on the broiler. Top peppers with shredded cheese (I used cheddar & Monterey Jack) and return to the oven, approximately 6 inches from the broiler. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted.