Southwestern Style Stuffed Bell Peppers
The classic stuffed bell pepper recipe with a Southwestern kick.
The classic stuffed bell pepper that you probably have eaten many times, perhaps as a kid because your mom had a great recipe, or maybe from a high school cafeteria line, has a decidedly Italian flavor profile. The peppers are invariably green, and the ground beef was heavily imbued with onion, tomato, seasoned with oregano and thyme, and a filler of rice was almost always included, although my mom actually used Quaker Oats. A real Italian mom would undoubtedly have used torn bread or bread crumbs.
On this occasion, I had some red, yellow and orange bell peppers handy and wanted something different, so I came up with this recipe. Since this is almost an anti-Italian flavor profile, I would dissuade you from using green bell peppers in this recipe at all.
A key ingredient is a Dash Seasoning Blend (formerly Mrs. Dash) called Southwest Chipotle. I’ve had mine in the panty for awhile and never figured out what exactly to do with it. I think it found a home in this recipe. I still used rice as a filler (and also to absorb excess water), but have added white corn for that Southwestern authenticity and other seasonings that include the Ro-Tel brand of tomatoes & chopped green chilies.
This dish pairs well with the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Black Beans Mexicano.
Southwestern Style Stuffed Bell Peppers
The classic stuffed bell pepper recipe with a Southwestern kick.
Ingredients
- 3 large bell peppers, red, yellow and orange (not green)
- 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
- 1 medium sweet onion (like, Vidalia or Texas 1015)
- 1-2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
- 3 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 microwaveable cup long grain white rice (like, Minute Microwavable White Rice)
- 1 10 oz can mild Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
- 1 11 oz can white corn, drained (like, Del Monte Summer Crisp)
- 2 tbsp Dash Chipotle Southwest Seasonings
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp coriander
- Juice of ½ lime
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1-1/2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese (like, Kraft)
- non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
- 4-5 tbsp table salt for the boiling water
Instructions
- Cut the bell peppers in half length-ways, remove seed and ribs. Wash thoroughly.
- In a pot large enough for the pepper halves, bring salted water to a rolling boil. Then, drop in the bell peppers and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove, drain, and immediately put the peppers into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. When completely cooled, remove peppers from the water bath and dry thoroughly.
- Add the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the chopped onion and the onions are translucent but not browned.
- Add the ground beef and sauté until no pink color remains. Drain off any excess fat.
- Add the diced tomatoes and sauté until limp. Add the garlic and sauté a minute more.
- Add Ro-Tel, the white corn and rice. Heat through.
- Add Dash Southwest Seasoning, the cumin, salt, oregano and coriander. Stir in well and stirring frequently, simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Remove from the heat and add the lime juice. Test for seasoning.
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then fill each pepper cup with the mixture and top with the Mexican blend of cheese.
- Place the pepper halves in a shallow baking dish treated with some cooking spray and cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.
