This recipe is a delicious way to get protein, veggies and starch all in one go! These reheat very well, so they’re also great for meal prepping as the weeks get busier near summer’s end.

Ingredients

• 4-6 bell peppers
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground beef (or substitute of your choice)
• 1 white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven and prep peppers
Preheat oven to 375 degrees f. Cut peppers in half and take out seeds and stems. Then, add about a cup and a half of water to a 9×13 baking dish and place the peppers with their skin-side down in the baking dish and cover with foil. Bake them for 20 minutes to soften them before adding filling.

2. Prep filling
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion until translucent, then add garlic cloves and cook for about another minute. Add ground beef and cook thoroughly until browned.

3. Jazz it up
Add tomato paste, cooked rice, diced tomatoes and spices to the filling mixture and cook for about 5 more minutes until the liquids have reduced.

4. Stuff the peppers
Stuff the filling mixture into the pepper halves and cook for about 10 minutes. Then, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of the peppers and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

5. Serve it hot
Serve right away and enjoy this fabulous all-in-one meal.