Stuffed Peppers with Black Beans and Brown Rice
To preface this, multicolored peppers were on sale at Aldi’s, and I just got them not really thinking of what I’d do with them. But a while ago, Amanda (roomie) made me and Jeff these delicious stuffed peppers with wild rice and chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes and chicken, so once I got home and looked in my pantry, I realized I could recreate her recipe, meatless (although I used some chicken broth that I needed to use up) and convenience-based. So here we go:
4 peppers - any color (I used part of a green pepper, a yellow, an orange, and a red)
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tsp-ish minced garlic
olive oil
Spinach (a handful)
3-4 grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup dry brown rice
black beans - I used about a third of a cup (just leftover from something else I’d made. Also, now I use dry black beans, which you soak and cook ahead of time. No added sodium that way.)
Garlic hummus is what I used for the “glue” to keep the stuffing together because I had it, but you can use straight-up chickpeas; Amanda mashed about half a can and left the other half whole, then threw those in.
Cheese - any kind will do; Amanda used feta, I used “Pizza” cheese which added a nice flavor
First, put your brown rice on to boil (brown rice takes about 45 minutes to make). A heaping cup of brown rice will make PLENTY of filling (you could probably actually fill about 4 peppers or maybe even 5 with this much)
Cut three peppers in half. Place five of these halves in a microwavable pan or plate with about a half inch of water in the bottom, then microwave in 2 minute increments; I think I did 6 minutes total. Chop the remaining half and about a quarter to a half of a green pepper.
Pour about two tablespoons olive oil in a pan; heat. Add minced garlic and onions and sauté for a bit, then add the chopped peppers. When the onions are almost clear or the vegetables are cooked almost to how you like them, add the spinach and halved grape tomatoes. You will add this mixture to the rice.
When the rice is done (this is where chicken broth is optional - add it (about a quarter cup) if you have it, don’t bother if you don’t or if your’e a vegetarian), throw the sautéed peppers and onions in with it, then stir in about two heaping tablespoons of hummus and a few tablespoons of cheese. Add the black beans and whatever seasonings you like (I added some Pizza seasoning, pepper, and Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning), take the peppers out of the microwave, drain most of the water out of the pan but not all, stuff the peppers with the filling, and pop in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. The end! Very tasty, and makes for great leftovers! The leftover filling is fine by itself or you could heat it up and eat it in a tortilla.