Vegan friendly stuffed peppers!

Hey all,

I know it’s been awhile… I’ve been settling into my new job, new city, new social life, new dating life…. It’s all very exciting.  But I have neglecting my poor little food blog.  I assure you, I have been cooking and baking plenty.  I bake nearly once a week for my department at work, and they are equally grateful and scornful that I keep bringing in delectable baked goods.  They think I’m trying to fatten them up or something.  I’ve made chocolate chip cookies, Oreo cheesecake, and even some carrot cake cupcakes last week.  Soooooo good.  I am really taking advantage of my new, red Kitchen Aide mixer I just got.  Love it.

So tonight for dinner, I decided I would try my hand at some stuffed peppers.  I didn’t look up any recipe specifically, and when I went to the store, I just bought some ingredients that sounded like they would go great together.  I realized as I am cooking it, that it is not only vegetarian friendly, but vegan friendly as well!  Here’s a quick breakdown of what I’ve done:

2 red bell peppers, tops cut off, seeds removed

Half a chopped brown onion

6-7 small cloves of garlic, minced

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 can black beans, lightly drained

a handful of cilantro, chopped

3/4 cup vegetable stock, divided

1 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Monterey jack/mozzarella/ cheese of your choosing (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Prepare your brown rice ahead of time.

In a large skillet, with a little olive oil, cook the onion and garlic, til onion is soft.

Then, add half a cup of vegetable stock, black beans and tomatoes to pan.  Add cumin, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne.  Cook for 4-5 minutes til tomatoes begin to break down.  Pour mixture in a large bowl.  Add 1/2 cups cooked rice to mixture.  Mix in cilantro.

Cut the tops off of 2-4 red bell peppers.  Removed seeds and any excess innards.  Fill the peppers with the mixture.  Stand up in a baking dish, and pour the remaining 1/4 cup vegetable stock in dish.  Put the dish in the oven on the lowest rack possible.

Bake for 40-50 minutes.  If adding cheese, add cheese to the top of each pepper in last 10 minutes of baking.

I’m sure adding corn or extra chopped bell pepper would also be a delicious addition!

Voila!  Delicious, hearty, vegetarian or vegan friendly dinner!

Enjoy!

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