I decided to start the year off with a family favorite, Stuffed Green Peppers. For these I used white rice, but you can use brown rice or quinoa if you prefer. There is no link this month because I used my own recipe.
I usually stuff six green peppers, four with a hamburger rice mixture and cheddar cheese and two with a plant-based beef mixture and plant-based cheddar cheese.
Full disclosure, I don’t use measurements for this recipe. I make two cups of either white or brown rice which I divide between the Vegan and non-Vegan pepper filling.
I preheat the oven to 350-375 degrees.
After I start cooking the rice, I cut the tops off six green peppers and clean out the seeds before placing them in a glass baking dish filled with about an inch of water. I dice the tops and sauté them with diced onions, diced red, and yellow peppers, and diced jalapeno peppers, and sauté them in a skillet adding garlic, black pepper, red pepper. pepper flakes, parsley, cumin, and chili powder. Then, I add a can of diced tomatoes and a can of black beans or kidney beans and transfer the mixture to a saucepan to simmer while I brown the meat and microwave the frozen plant-based beef crumbles – you can also pan fry tofu or mushrooms in place of the meat substitute or add more beans.
After I add the rice to the vegetables, I divide the mixture into two saucepans before adding the meat or meat substitute. I add additional spices to taste and simmer.
Fill the hollowed out green peppers starting with shredded cheddar cheese or plant-based shredded cheddar cheese and alternate the rice mixture and cheese until filled. Add chipotle sauce to the top then sprinkle with more cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 additional minutes if you want the top to be crispy.
Though chopping vegetables takes time, it can be done while the rice cooks. Assembling the peppers is easy.
If you aren’t a fan of Mexican food, you can make a variation using Italian sausage and Italian seasonings leaving out the jalapenos and using Cannellini beans (white kidney beans).
Enjoy!