I have been seeing stuffed peppers recipes for ages, all different varieties. I’m not sure why I never actually made them. Tonight, though, my cupboards and fridge were full of a random assortment of things; every time I tried to plan a meal, I was lacking one thing–mainly a protein. But eggs or tuna fish alone did not a dinner entree make. My groceries arrive tomorrow (via FreshDirect!) so I didn’t want to buy anything; it seemed like stuffed peppers were going to have their moment!
I searched the Web for recipes, but they were all pretty much the same: hollow out a pepper, stuff with yumminess (vegetarian or carnivorous), and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. This is a recipe like stir-fry; you can’t mess it up. There’s honestly no need for overthinking!
Here was my stuffing mix; all the ingredients were chilling in my kitchen in smallish, leftover quantities:
Small can of tuna
One hard boiled egg
Chopped veggies: celery, green pepper, and red onion
About a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
From the spice rack: garlic powder, onion powder, dried mustard, cayenne pepper, fresh oregano
I put everything in a bowl and combined to create an egg-tuna salad that smelled delicious. Then I hollowed out a large red pepper and packed it all inside! I topped it with some canned diced tomatoes.
Here’s a pre-bake picture.
I popped it in the preheating 350 degree oven. When it had been in for about 15 minutes, I boiled some water and tossed in diced yellow squash, asparagus, and frozen broccoli and let it hang out for 5 minutes.
After draining, I drizzled with flaxseed oil, lemon juice, and some garlic powder.
The result: a delicious, healthy, easy homemade meal!
The flavors in the egg-tuna mixture blended wonderfully, and the pepper was still crisp enough that it provided some heft to the meal.
What makes it healthy: the tuna and egg provide protein and a little bit of fat to keep you full, and the veggies provide vitamins (lots of A in that pepper!) and fiber for not too many calories.
This also has a great presentation because of the red pepper and all the veggies, so I am excited to make this dish for my family!
You can stuff peppers with anything: cooked ground beef, rice, chickpeas, cheese, quinoa, olives…it helps to pick a flavor family (say, Greek or Italian) and then pick a cheese and combination of spices that compliment it (like mozarella, basil, and oregano or black beans, Mexican cheese, and cumin). My inspiration was “everything that hasn’t spoiled but is about to,” and it turned out great.
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