Stuffed bell peppers

So last week I was seriously craving stuffed bell peppers so that is what I made for lunches this week. I rarely measure stuff when I'm cooking so the measurements will be approximate but remember you can always adjust recipes to better suit your taste! This recipe made way more than what I needed for the 5 peppers I had but I'm freezing the rest for another batch :)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. chopped onion (I used a quarter of a large onion.)
• 1 celery stalk
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic (I use the mince garlic you can buy in a jar from costco so I used over 1 tsp of that)
• 2 lbs ground beef (you can also use ground turkey or chicken to make this lower in calories)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 5 mushrooms
• 1/3 c. kidney beans
• tomato sauce/crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups of brown rice (cooked separately)
• bell peppers
• Parmesan cheese
• Bake at 350F for 20 minutes 

Preheat your frying pan at medium low heat and get your rice cooking. Use a few tablespoons of oil (can use whatever oil is your favorite, I used olive) and added the onions and garlic.

Once the onions have cooked about halfway throw in the chopped celery and add your beef. I normally use extra lean ground beef but the didn't have any at the store today so I went with lean. Once the beef is cooked you can either strain it with a fine strainer or just push the mixture to one side of the pan and spoon the grease out by lifting the pan so it collects at the bottom.

While the beef is cooking prepare your peppers. I would suggest boiling them for a few minutes before stuffing them because they took a while to soften in the oven. Normally stuffed peppers are done as a whole but I prefer having them in halves.

When the beef is almost completely cooked add in your mushrooms and shred the carrot in. Cook for a few minutes and add in the kidney beans, tomato sauce and spices. I used salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, and an italian mixed seasoning. I also added some Heinz chili sauce because I just felt like something was missing.

Add in your rice and stir well.

Stuff your peppers and put a small amount of water in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, take them out and top with cheese and bake for another 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted or brown, depending what cheese you are using. I'll be taking these for lunches with a broccoli slaw for some veg.