Tasty Tuesdays #4 - Mexican Stuffed Peppers

This recipe is adapted from Clean Eating Magazine - one of my favourite sources for recipes that are diet friendly! It is a vegetarian dish that can easily be made vegan by omitting the dairy. It is a snap to make and you can squeeze in a quick workout while it cooks up. :P


Ingredient round up: plain yogurt, brown rice (1 c prepared), black beans (1 cup), olive oil, garlic, tomato, chile powder, cumin, 4 red peppers, fresh cilantro, onion, frozen corn (1 cup) and low fat cheese (not shown).


To start things off, make sure your brown rice is COOKED. You will need 1 cup. Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 375-degrees. Begin by chopping your tomatoes and onions. Put them into a large bowl with the corn, black beans and rice.


Now it is time for the flavoring agents! Add a few cloves of minced garlic, 1/4 tsp of chile powder, 1 tsp olive oil and a good handful of chopped cilantro*. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper in the mixture. Mix well!


Mmmm....it's coming together now!


Red peppers in various stages of deconstruction! Wash them, cut them in half and remove the stems and seeds. These will be the 'cups' for your stuffing.


Time to get messy. There really is no graceful way to do this...just roll up your sleeves and cram a half-cup of stuffing into each pepper.


Add the peppers to a baking dish that has been sprayed with a little cooking spray. Cover the dish in aluminum foil. These will go into the oven for 40-45 minutes. I actually did a quick treadmill workout while these baked up - can you believe it?! When the time is up, top each pepper with a tablespoon of Tex Mex cheese (my cheat: shredded cheese seasoned with a bit of cumin). Let bake for another 5-10 uncovered until the cheese is melted and golden.


That's the ticket! I serve these up with a green salad, a couple of avocado slices and a dollop of plain low fat yogurt or sour cream.

Enjoy!
Rae
xo

*NOTE: cilantro is one of those "love it or hate it" herbs. If you haven't tried it before, make sure you like it first! You can substitute fresh basil or parsley if you place it in the 'hate it' camp. ;)