A twist on the old hamburger-rice-tomato stuffed green peppers many of us remember from mom's recipe rotation. Makes a great meal if you're watching your carbs or gluten intake -- skip the rice if you're looking for keto. One serving is 2-4 pepper halves, depending on your appetite.
Ingredients
3 red, yellow and/or orange bell peppers**
Olive oil
1 pound hamburger
1 small red onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups rice, cooked
1 can black beans, drained (I used Cuban black beans)
15 oz. salsa
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
**This recipe serves 2 people with leftover filling. To serve 4, you can double the amount of peppers -- you'll have enough filling.
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Cut a wide circle around the stems of the peppers (like taking the top off a jack-o-lantern), Remove the seeds from the peppers. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise. If you have extra pepper around the stems, chop it up to throw into the hamburger mixture.
Cook
- In a skillet over medium high, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and jalapeno (and extra pepper tops, if you have chopped it), stirring several minutes until softened. Add the hamburger and brown it thoroughly, chopping it into small pieces as you cook it. Drain the hamburger fat.
- In the skillet with the onion, jalapeno and hamburger, add the garlic and taco seasoning plus 1/8 cup of water. Mix well and simmer 3-5 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
- Add black beans, cooked rice and salsa. Cook another 2-3 minutes until heated through.
- Fill each half of pepper with hamburger mixture until slightly heaped over the top. Place the filled peppers in a greased baking dish and cover with shredded cheese.
- Pour 1/4 water into the bottom of the baking dish and cover the dish with foil.
- Bake in 425 oven for about 45 minutes, until filling is hot all the way through, cheese is melted and the peppers are soft but not mushy.
Serve
Serve with hot sauce. Cilantro (fresh or dried) makes a good garnish. I also served with roasted jalapenos, stuffed with cream cheese and covered with bacon -- because peppers are awesome and so is cheese. A cold salad would make a nice accompaniment to cool down the meal a bit.
A Little Backstory
More of a suggestion than a backstory.
You'll have leftover hamburger filling from this recipe, and it'll be great warmed up in other dishes like taco salads, or lunchtime wraps.
Feel free to freeze it for later use, too -- it'll make a tasty filling for tacos or enchiladas in a few weeks.
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