Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Before I start, I just want to start off that this is not a PRIMAL or PALEO recipe but a delicious, more healthy splurge dinner recipe!!! We are starting back on a more strict Primal/Paleo diet as my hubby starts doing Crossfit hardcore and training for some competitions.  Last week was our last week of legumes and grains. 

This was such a delicious stuff pepper recipe. Not like the traditional stuff pepper recipe at all!!! My neighbor had made taco soup the night before I made these and the mixture just sounded perfect for my peppers! I had a large amount of peppers from our food share. I might add that the mixture is great alone and freezable. You can also freeze bell peppers and enjoy stuff peppers all year round! 

The Ingredients:

3-5 bell peppers, green or colored, halved, seeds removed

1/2 pound ground beef (or a full pound)

1 Tbs. taco seasoning (or follow package directions for 1/2 pound beef)

1 1/2 c. frozen corn (optional)

2 c. black beans (about 1 can)

1 16 oz. jar salsa

1/4 c. diced red onion

(optional) other vegetables: diced red pepper, zucchini, leafy greens, etc…anything you have on hand to enhance the mixture

(optional) extra kidney beans or lentils to fill in for the missing 1/2 lb. ground beef

The Directions:

Brown meat and add taco seasoning, following directions on packet or with seasoning recipe to make basic taco meat. If using a half pound ground beef, you might brown a whole pound and freeze the other half for an easy pasta meal the next week. Consider adding cooked lentils or kidney beans at this point and double the taco seasoning accordingly.

Add all the other ingredients except the cheese and heat through on the stovetop. Be creative with the vegetables you have on hand; it’s hard to go wrong with a whole jar of salsa and some taco seasoning already in the mix!

Meanwhile, use a steamer basket to steam the halved peppers for 5-10 minutes until somewhat softened but not cooked to death. Arrange in an oval or 9×13 casserole dish and “stuff” the filling into each pepper generously. This filling is a bit like the loaves and fishes: everything is suddenly full and there’s still more left! I often end up with more filling than I need, which becomes great taco style leftovers or freezes well for a future meal.

After filling, top the peppers with shredded cheese and broil or bake at 350F for 5-10 minutes to brown the cheese.


Part of: Hearth and Soul Hop, Pinterest for Traditional Foodists Link-up, Fat Tuesday