These are such a quick and easy meal to make! Our kids will go through phases where they will eat the pepper, other times they just eat the stuffing (which still have veggies in it!) but it seems anything I make with cheese is always a win at our table. I made these a little different than I usually do and absolutely adored them, so decided to share the updated recipe.
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (can substitute for turkey, chicken or meat alternative)
3-4 whole, sweet peppers
Cooked rice, we prefer basmati or jasmine
Mild salsa, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
Grated cheese, we prefer cheddar
2 tbsp butter
Directions
Boil about 1c of rice as per directions on the package. Drain and set aside.
On medium, brown your ground meat or meat alternative with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic and onion powder. If not using a lean meat, you may need to drain the grease.
While meat and rice are cooking take your peppers, wash, and cut in half removing the seeds. Set the peppers aside until ready to stuff. Slice your butter and lay in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Once meat is fully cooked, turn the stove to almost low and add the cooked rice, and start with a cup of salsa. Stir it all together until blended. If the meat and rice seem dry, add a bit more salsa until you reach your desired consistency. I like to add enough just to cover the rice and meat, but not so that the dish is sloppy.
Once everything is blended, remove from heat. Pick up your pepper halves and carefully, as the stuffing will be hot, use a spoon, and fill each pepper half with the stuffing until full. You can use the spoon back to press the stuffing in. Once full, lay on the butter in the casserole dish.
Once each pepper is full and tucked into the casserole dish, sprinkle the grated cheese over top.
Cover the dish with foil and bake at 400F until the cheese is melted and peppers softened. About 20-30 min. Uncover the pepper for the last 5 min and let the top crisp up a bit. Remove and serve.
Super simple recipe with very few steps. I used to stick to italian seasonings and tomato sauce, while dicing and adding onions and peppers to the beef when browning it. I decided to try the cumin and salsa for a different flavour this time and found it worked even better! Less prep and the flavour was fantastic. If your family likes more heat, just increase the salsa to medium or hot. Quick to prep, quick to cook and a full meal in a short time.
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