It’s a little after lunch time and I am hungry! So today’s lunch is a little improvisation. I had some ground chicken in the fridge and found pinto beans in the back of my cupboard and I instantly craved something mexican-ish.
So here are my easy stuffed peppers. Makes 5 peppers (10 halves).
What you'll need: 1 lb organic ground chicken 1 cup cooked quinoa 5 red bell peppers 1 can pinto beans or black beans or refried 1/3 cup salsa 1/3 cup nonfat greek yogurt 1/2 lime 1 tbsp cumin 1 tsp paprika 1 tbsp oil shredded cheddar cheese salt to season avocado (for topping, optional)
Directions:
Turn on broiler. Wash and prepare bell peppers. Cut peppers lengthwise and discard seeds and stem. Put the peppers, skin side up on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil for 7 minutes.
Add 1 tbs avocado oil in a heated pan and add ground chicken. Add cumin and paprika and salt. Cook till chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Rinse pinto beans and smash with a spoon. If you want to skip this step, just use refried beans.
Add prepared chicken to beans. Add yogurt, salsa and lime. Stir until well combined.
Add quinoa (you’ll have quinoa left over) to bottom of bell peppers ( ~1/8 cup) and then add chicken mixture. Top with cheddar cheese. I only had mozzarella on hand but cheddar would be better.
Use same baking sheet with aluminum foil that you used before. Bake stuffed peppers in oven for 15 minutes. Top with avocado or guacamole. If you only want to make 2 or 3 peppers, the chicken mixture makes great leftovers- tastes great on it’s own or wrap some in a brown rice tortilla and you have yourself a burrito!
