I love stuffed bell peppers. They’re literally little food boats that you can shove in your mouth with no judgement. I’m desperate for Mexican food since moving to Idaho. No one told me that it would be hard to find out here. That would’ve influenced my decision big time. They’re lucky they decided to build an In N Out otherwise I would’ve packed up and found a new state already. Kidding. Kind of.

Since good Mexican food has been difficult to find in my new home state, I’ve been playing around with my own creations. I then of course, put a healthy twist on it. I’m not super strict about no dairy but do try to limit it. I actually sprinkled cheese on half of the bell peppers to taste one with and one without. I have to say that I didn’t miss the cheese on the one without.

In addition to creating these beauties, I ended up making Mexican style cauliflower rice. I used to only stuff these with meat but that was a lot of the same texture. Breaking it up with half rice and half meat was what made these a homerun.

The great thing about cauliflower rice is that it’s kind of like a sponge, it takes on flavors and spices really well. I made a pretty big batch of the rice so not only did I stuff the peppers with it, but I also served some on the side. I even had leftovers to make a burrito bowl the next day!

Ingredients:

• 3 of your favorite-colored bell peppers

For the meat:

• 1 lb grass fed and finished ground beef
• 1 packet siete taco seasoning

For the rice:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 white onion, chopped
• 1 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower rice (you can use an 8oz bag and cut the seasoning in half)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tap garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 chicken bone broth or stock

How to prepare:

1. In a medium saucepan, brown your ground beef and mix in the taco seasoning. Set meat aside
2. While the meat is cooking, heat your cauliflower rice in the microwave according to the instructions on the packaging
3. Don’t forget to line your colander with paper towels, place your rice in the middle and fold the paper towels around the rice. This will absorb the excess moisture in the rice.
4. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat
5. Add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes
6. Once the onion starts to turn translucent, add in your cauliflower rice
7. I like to warm the rice up a bit before I add in the seasoning
8. Once the seasoning has been added, pour in the chicken/bone broth
9. Keep cooking the rice until all moisture has disappeared. I like to cook it until the rice begins sticking to the pan a bit. This will give it a nice crispy texture
10. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
11. Grab your bell peppers and cut them in half, lengthwise
12. Remove the seeds and center portion of the pepper to create plenty of room for your tasting filling
13. Fill each pepper with meat then rice, or rice then meat. Use a spoon to push the stuffing down and try to fit as much as you can in each pepper
14. Top with cheese, or don’t, and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted
15. I like my peppers crisp but if you want them on the softer side, add a 1/4 of water to your dish before putting them in to the oven. This will steam them a bit while in the oven
16. Top with your favorite fixens like chives, avocados or hot sauce!

I usually always stuff these peppers with the rice first, then I top with the meat. However, I was distracted and/or wasn’t paying attention when doing this part and accidentally did the meat first, then the rice. I have to say it was a happy accident! I real Bob Ross moment if you will. The meat tends to topple out if you have a shallow pepper so by using the rice to top it off helped keep it in place. Play around with it and see what works for you!

❤️ME