First of all, I had a blast in Austin over the weekend! I found out I cannot drink like I could 4 years ago when we started these girls trip. However, I did get to hang out with the gals, consumed my fair share of alcohol and ate at quite a few food trucks. Success. I did in fact take and actually use a new compact digital camera. I will go through my pictures and share them with you soon!
Also, based on conversation at the end of the trip, we decided our next destination was Louisville, Kentucky. It was that, or Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to see if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow or not in 2016 on Groundhog’s Day. You might think I am joking…. I am 100% serious. Anyway, more to come about Austin 2015. Stay tuned.
Now don’t freak out on me about the title of this post… I really do eat carbs. Mostly fruits and whole grains, but I do consume carbs. I believe they are a very important part of the diet, especially when exercising. Carbohydrates are a great source of energy when working out, so that your body doesn’t break down your muscle to get fuel! Some people see great results with low carb diets, but personally, I feel better when I consume a few carbs throughout the day. That’s the great, while also not-so-great, thing about bodies. Each person is different and responds to macronutrients and micronutrients differently. Find what works for you!
The great part about this recipe is that you could add some carbs on the side if you wanted to (mexican rice, tortillas, bread, beans, etc). You could also use actual rice in the stuffed peppers, instead of using the cauliflower “rice”. I chose a lower-carb dinner this particular day, plus I had some leftover riced-cauliflower that I needed to use up. I happened to eat my stuffed pepper alongside a nice portion of grilled chicken breast.
Cauliflower is all the rage these days and, I’m not going to lie, I love it! Cooked cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies. It is really easy to make “rice” out of cauliflower. All you need to do it put small amounts of the raw vegetable in a food processor and pulse it a few times to make it the texture of rice (I typically do 3-4 small batches so that it makes it all more uniform in size). You could also use a cheese grater and manually make the rice.
The cauliflower rice can be used in soups, stir-fry, on its own…basically any way you would normally eat rice. Give it a try! One new trend with cauliflower rice is to make pizza crust out of it. There are recipes all over Pinterest that show you how to make it. Let me know if you try a crust or just try the rice in general!
Now I did want a few carbs in this meal, but not too many, so I added a few black beans to the recipe. You could use any bean you would like or omit them completely! I was going for Mexican so I chose the black beans, which just so happen to be my favorite of the beans…..
I also happened to get two orange bell peppers in my Bountiful Basket so I used them. Any color of bell pepper would work. You could get really crazy and mix-and-match several different colors for a serving platter that was very appealing to the eye!
I love stuffed peppers because you can make one, or you can make twenty and it is close to the same amount of work. I will sometimes make a large batch, then freeze the individual servings so that I can grab one for lunch when I am in a bind or so that I can have something healthy and quick if I get home late from work.
You can basically sub any veggie you want, depending on the flavor you are going for. Again, I wanted Mexican so I used some onion that I had in the fridge and some cherry tomatoes. These are also vegetarian (minus eating them alongside some chicken), but you could add turkey, beef, or chicken to the mixture as well. Stuffed peppers are so versatile, which if you haven’t noticed, is how I like recipes!
Another tip: if you have leftover filling but don’t have any more peppers, then use the filling in a tortilla/wrap or make a taco salad out of it….no need to throwing it out!
- 2 medium bell peppers, any color
- 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup cauliflower, riced*
- 1/2 cup of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1/4 cup cotija cheese, shredded
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove the core and seeds from bell peppers. Slice bell peppers in half, vertically.
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil.
- Add bell peppers and reduce heat to simmer. Allow peppers to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain water. Place peppers in a glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is heated, add onions. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cauliflower to the pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add black beans, tomatoes, and salsa verde to the pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Divide the bean-cauliflower mixture evenly between the halved-peppers.
- Sprinkle cotija cheese evenly over the peppers.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned.
- *Cauliflower should be measured after being riced.
- To save time, bell peppers can be microwaved to soften instead of boiled.
- Use leftover filling in wraps, taco salads, or on its own!
