Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

0 of 13 out on the counter

• 6 large green bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded, tops chopped for the filling
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup, 160 g)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 oz 90% lean ground beef
• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1½ cups cooked long-grain brown rice
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, divided
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¾ cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar, divided
• 1 cup water, for the dish

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 375 °F. Cut the tops off the peppers and scoop out the seeds. Chop the tops and set them aside. Stand the peppers upright in a 9x13 baking dish, trimming a sliver off any that tip. Pour the cup of water around them.
2. 2Heat the oil in a wide skillet on medium. Cook the onion and the chopped pepper tops for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
3. 3Add the beef. Break it up and cook it until no pink is left, about 8 minutes. With 90% lean beef there is little fat to pour off.
4. 4Stir in the rice, the beans, half of the tomato sauce, the oregano, salt and pepper, and half of the cheese. Take the pan off the heat.
5. 5Spoon the filling into the peppers, mounding it. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the tops.
6. 6Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake 50 minutes. The peppers steam in water that boils at about 203 °F here, so they take a little longer than sea-level recipes say.
7. 7Uncover, scatter on the rest of the cheese and bake 10 minutes more, until the cheese melts and the filling reads at least 160 °F in the middle of the meat.
8. 8Rest 5 minutes before serving. Cool leftovers within 2 hours, no more than 2 hours, then refrigerate. Freeze baked peppers one to a bag. Reheat covered to 165 °F.