Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers, a recipe by Gina Wilson,

All Photos included with this recipe are credited to Gina Wilson.

The Origins of Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers:

Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers is a recipe that was shared with me by my sister, Gina Wilson, and I have to say, it looks de-lish! Aren’t her pictures great too? I couldn’t wait to add it to my collection as well as pass it along to y’all! This is an easily adaptable recipe that can be made with homestead ingredients, and ingredients from the farmer’s market, or the supermarket! I will add my tips on how you can do this recipe no matter where you’re at in your homestead journey! My tips on how I do this Mexican Stuffed Peppers are down below! Ya’ll enjoy and let me know how you liked the recipe by leaving a comment below!

Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers, The Recipe:

Now to the recipe! It can be done in just about an hour from start to finish, definitely worth the investment! I’ve also included the homemade taco seasoning recipe that my sister sent with this recipe. It can be found here.

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb (pound) Ground Beef
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
• 1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 14 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 4 oz can diced green chiles
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
• 1 Cup uncooked rice
• 4 oz tomato paste
• 4 Tbsp taco seasoning, I attached my sister’s recipe here
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 4 to 8 bell peppers, *see notes below

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cook rice per instructions on package
3. Add ground beef, onion, garlic, green chiles, and tomato paste, and taco seasoning to pan and cook until browned.
4. Combine drained tomatoes, drained corn and the drained and rinsed black beans in a large bowl.
5. Drain ground beef mixture and add to tomato mixture in bowl, add in cooked rice and stir until combined.
6. Then add in one cup of the shredded cheese and stir to combine. Set bowl aside.
7. Next, slice bell peppers in half lengthwise and clean out seeds and membrane.
8. Then, lay peppers open side up in baking dish and stuff with ground beef and rice mixture. Be sure to overstuff to heaping!
9. Next add 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking dish and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes
10. Pull from oven and top with remaining shredded cheese and bake an additional 10-20 minutes.
11. Let cool for a few minutes out of the oven and enjoy!

Homestead Tips, Tricks, and Substitutions for Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers:

Here is a list of homestead substitutions and tricks to make this a homegrown meal in a snap! The recipe is really wholesome food based already, so it made it really easy to transition!

Things to try instead:

• Ground pork, turkey or chicken: If you don’t yet have beef on your homestead or in your freezer? Then you can easily substitute any one of these, including shredded chicken!! Just be sure to drain ground pork very well because it will typically be greasier than beef. On the opposite hand, turkey may need to have oil added to the pan and or steamed during cooking, (you can achieve this by covering the ground turkey with a lid while it cooks, adding a bit of water to the mix) to prevent the turkey from drying out. *If you opt to try shredded chicken, just cook your chicken breasts in the pan until done all the way through, then remove from pan and shred with fork. Then add back to the pan and continue with the recipe as written.
• Onions from the farmers market or right in your homestead garden! This is a great example of a simple substitution if you have the resources! Organic from the grocery store is nothing to frown at either! You do where you’re at!

Tips for Beans, Tomatoes, and More!

• Black beans: You can use cooked black beans that you’ve bought at the market, or grown in your homestead backyard! Or perhaps you have some beans you’ve canned in your pantry! Also, pinto beans and kidney beans can be a great substitute if you don’t have black beans on hand! Just make sure to stay close to the measurements in the recipe!
• Petite Diced Tomatoes: Here you can use ones you’ve maybe canned off your homestead or from the grocery store! That would be an awesome sub! Also if you don’t have the plain ones on hand, you can surely just use Rotel (I would use 2 cans) and omit the green chiles.
• Green Chiles: You can omit if you’re using Rotel, (As noted above) or you can use chopped and de-seeded jalapenos fresh out of the garden or the farmers market or produce isle! If you REALLY like the heat you can also use Habaneros, Sugar Rush Peach Peppers, Buena Mulatas, tabasco peppers etc. You get the idea lol Just be sure to *use the stated amount and add them in with the meat mixture while browning the meat!
• Whole kernel corn: You can replace this with corn you’ve home-canned, but just remember to drain. If using this sub, I would use no more than one pint of corn. You can use corn right off the cob, but cook it down a bit before adding to the recipe due to the water content of the fresh corn. To do this, I would just sauté it in a buttered pan for a few mins and drain any liquid off, and then add to your mixture and continue with recipe.

More things to try:

• Rice: This is a very simple sub because you pre-cook the rice before mixing it in the recipe. Because of that, you can use just about any rice you like! Even minute rice. Although I don’t recommend if you’re trying to avoid processed foods, which is a big reason I do what I do on our homestead. Minute rice and quick rices are typically more processed because they go through being parboiled before packaging in order to cut the cook time. Another option would be to use a wild rice or quinoa even! Yummmm!
• Taco seasoning: I highly recommend using a homemade seasoning for this! You can control what goes in it and it will keep you from having to use prepackaged seasoning with unnecessary ingredients like sugars, preservatives including MSG. Create a taco seasoning from scratch with a few simple spices! I have included the recipe my sister sent along with this recipe. You can find it here.
• Cheese: You can use a few different types of cheese in this recipe and if you have access to your own homestead cheeses or organic and raw cheese options, that’s even better! Colby jack, cheddar or a blend of cheeses would work. To me, it’s the meltier, the better! Also, I try to avoid processed cheese product here like velveeta and many sliced cheeses. I also will buy cheese by the block and shred it myself to avoid the pre-shredded trap that has anti-caking agent on it to prevent clumping.

Don’t Forget the Peppers!

• Bell Peppers: You can most definitely use your own home-grown bell peppers, and any color would work. Each color has their own unique flavor too! Also, this can make as little as 4 half peppers or up to 8 halves! If you just want a small meal, you can always freeze the rest of the mix for later or make up to 8 at once.

Thank you!

Thank y’all so much and I hope y’all enjoy the recipes and more! Please be sure to leave a comment below and share how the recipe went for you! God bless!