When Jason and I got back from the beach, the weather was rainy and chilly. I wanted comfort food and Unstuffed Pepper Casserole was born!
Loaded with vegetables and great leftover. I like to eat it solo with a salad. Jason loved using it as a wrap filling and I used the final leftovers to stuff peppers and pulled the remaining tomato sauce on top. And you can make it vegetarian or add meat. Win, win, win.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound, organic turkey or ground beef*
- 1 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 white onion – chopped
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- 2 bell peppers of choice (red, green, yellow or red) – diced
- 1 jalapeno – diced
- ½ cup frozen corn
- 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups spinach – chopped
- ½ of 14-ounce can black beans*
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (you can also use a frozen brown rice and quinoa mixture like Path of Life)
- 1 cup organic cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
Instructions:
- Cook rice per packet instructions (or heat the frozen rice/quinoa mixture). If using meat, saute and chop in in a large pan on the stove.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large saucepan, saute olive oil, onions, garlic, bell and jalapeno peppers for 7-8 minutes.
- Then add corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, spinach, black beans, rice, ½ cup cheese, and spices. Saute for a few minutes and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Add all ingredients to 9×11 baking pan, sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
*make it vegetarian by skipping the meat and using the whole can of beans. If not making vegetarian use leftover beans in a salad with corn and avocado.