Stuffed Bell Pepper

Its funny how my mind will focus on an idea even if it’s stupid. The weight loss book I was reading last year mentioned that one can eat whatever one craves when hungry as long as one eats until satisfied (instead of being too full).  You know what my mind “heard”? That I can eat whatever I want and ignored the part of the book where I should avoid being too full. The result: I gained 10 lbs. in 4 months.  My Tita (Aunt) always told me, “a minute on the lips, forever on the hips.”  I’m paying for it. Sigh.

Over the past weeks, I’ve been trying hard to eat healthy and make better choices.  I’ve added more proteins and vegetables to my diet and have eaten less refined carbohydrates.  With my love of food, it’s hard to not feel deprived. Creativity in cooking is necessary for someone like me who will obsess over food that I can’t have.   Luckily, salads are one of my favorites because they are versatile and the variety of ingredients one can add to a salad is endless. However, after work, food that is more substantial and filling is what I need for dinner. I also wanted to make something fun to eat and a Stuffed Bell Pepper  sounded like a good idea. I sautéed ground beef in spices, filled the hollowed out bell pepper and baked it in the oven.  We prefer the bell pepper to retain it’s crisp-raw texture but for a tender stuffed bell pepper, a longer cooking time in the oven is needed. What an easy recipe to make!

Stuffed Bell Pepper

• Author: Amusing Maria

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 large Bell Peppers (any color)
• 1/4 cup onions
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 3 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (10 oz can)
• 1 cup chopped Bokchoy (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Prepping the Bell Peppers

1. Cut the bell pepper stem off and pull out seeds.
2. Carefully trim the inside of the bell pepper to even out the hollow area

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

Ground Meat Filling

1. Sautee onions in low heat until translucent
2. Add garlic, cook until tender
3. Add sun dried tomatoes, cook for about 2 minutes
4. Add ground beef, cook until brown
5. Add Enchilada Sauce
6. Mix well until thoroughly cooked
7. Add salt and pepper according to taste

Stuffed Bell Pepper

1. Lightly grease a bread pan
2. Place Bell Pepper in pan
3. Cover with Foil
4. Bake for 15 minutes, add another 5 minutes if tender bell pepper is desired