Black Bean and Beef Stuffed Peppers

There's something comforting about stuffed peppers. And these ones will not disappoint! Full of good stuff like lean ground beef, quinoa, black beans and cottage cheese and some savory mixed seasonings. Great as a meal prep dish... they can keep in the fridge for days and are also great for freezing!

Ingredients:

4-5 bell peppers

1/3 cup dry quinoa

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups canned black beans, drained

1 egg

1 lb lean ground beef

1 1/2 tsps dry oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste 

1 cup tomato sauce 

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil together then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff up with a fork and let cool. Meanwhile cut the peppers in half and clean out the seeds. Place in a 13 X 9" baking dish. Mix the diced onion, cottage cheese, black beans, beef, egg and all the seasonings together. Once quinoa is cooled mix that in too. Stuff the pepper halves with the filling, mounding it up. Add about 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce on top of each pepper then bake at 375°F for 40 minutes. The internal temperature should reach 160°F. Serve as is or topped with sour cream or tzatziki sauce.

Makes 10 servings.

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Tuna Stuffed Peppers

Perfect for an easy and healthy meal option using ingredients you probably already have in your fridge and pantry right now.

Ingredients:

1 - 170g (or 4.5 oz) can tuna, drained (albacore this time)

2 bell peppers, halved and seeds removed

1 cup cooked rice (I used leftover rice and peas, if you have plain rice just add about 2 tbsps peas)

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 tsp capers, chopped plus a few more to garnish

2 tsps chili oil 

1 Roma tomato, seeds removed and diced

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 white mushrooms, chopped

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1 1/2 tbsps mayonnaise

Roast the bell pepper halves in a 425°F oven for 15-20 minutes to soften. Set aside and reduce oven heat to 350°F.

Sauté the onion and mushrooms in chili oil on medium heat for 3 minutes then add the rest of the ingredients. Spoon filling into pepper halves. Return to a 350°F oven for 15 minutes. Garnish with more capers if you like.

Serves 2

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Old Fashioned Stuffed Peppers

A few everyday ingredients go into this classic, old fashioned recipe. I changed up the usual ground beef for ground pork, beef and veal but you can stick with just beef. The simplicity of the ingredients makes it work. You don't even need leftover rice for this one!

Ingredients:

500 g (1 lb) ground trio (pork, beef and veal)

5 bell peppers

1 1/2 cups bread, roughly torn (I used 2 white bread heels)

3-4 tbsps milk to moisten bread

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

1 tsp dry basil

1 tsp dry oregano

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsps olive oil

2 tbsps finely chopped celery

smoked paprika

Cut peppers in half, seed and core. Then blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute and into a cold water bath. Drain. Add the milk to the bread and set aside.

Add olive oil to a skillet and heat to medium. Brown the ground meat for 2-3 minutes, breaking it up. Remove from heat and add the garlic, onion, celery, parsley, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Then stir in the bread and bread crumbs. Mix well and spoon into pepper halves.

Sit the peppers in an oiled baking dish, sprinkle smoked paprika on top and cover with foil.

Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and return the peppers to the oven for an additional 15 minutes.

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