Low-Cal Super Stuffed Peppers

The other day I had mentioned that I was going to make stuffed peppers, but was then overcome with the urge to “stuff” something else. Well, my craving for stuffed peppers was back, so here we go! Now, the actual process of these is much less complicated than it seems…it’s really just cooking the rice and the SmartGrounds, and popping them in a pepper, but follow along for a delicious meal! (FYI, the amount of rice and “beef” that this makes is enough for 6-8 peppers. It is just the two of us, so we use 2 peppers and then have the “beef” and rice left over to make other yummy stuff through the week with!)

At only 1.5 grams of fat and 230 calories, this is Mexican food at it's finest, folks!

You’ll Need:

Red or Green Bell Peppers (2-8, depending on how many people you’re feeding)
1 cup of brown rice
Spices – I used cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder
½ a small can of green chilis…about 4 ounces
2 tomatoes
½ onion
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 package of Lightlife SmartGrounds, Mexican Style or other vegan ground beef substitute
Your Favorite Smooth Tequila (not for the peppers, but for the cook!)

Bring 2 ½ cups of water to a rolling boil and pour in 1 cup of rice. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, and chili powder to your liking (I’m a spice fiend, so the amount I use is probably way more than you’ll want to use!). While that is cooking, sautee ½ a diced onion and tablespoons of minced garlic until garlic is golden brown and onions are transparent. Add these to the cooking rice. Dice 2 tomatoes and add these along with 4 ounces of canned green chiles when there is about 5 minutes left of cooking time for the rice.

When the rice is almost finished, heat up your SmartGrounds (I prefer the Mexican style). I add about 3 tablespoons of hot sauce to this while it’s cooking and about 2 teaspoons of onion powder just for some more flavor. The SmartGrounds only take a few minutes to heat.

Cut the tops off of your peppers, so they are like deep bowls. Seed and rinse out the inside of the peppers and place in a pot of boiling water for 4-5 minutes, until slightly soft. Remove from boiling water and submerge in cold water for a few minutes.

Once your peppers are cool enough to handle, prop them upright and begin layering. I do a spoonful of the SmartGrounds, a spoonful of the rice, and so on and so forth until the pepper is full. I then top this with a couple sliced olives. Put these in a very lightly oiled baking dish, and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes. Top off with some salsa and enjoy!



Buen Provecho!