Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers

Hello blog fam! You are in for a real treat because today I am going to be sharing with you my first recipe! I absolutely LOVE to cook. Cooking is a great stress reliever for me, and I love every bit of it. I love meal planning, searching for recipes, cooking and trying out new recipes. Now that I am working mother, I don’t have all the time that I used to to spend in the kitchen. My style of cooking has changed, and I now go for meals that are simple, quick, affordable and healthy. Taco stuffed bell peppers are a quick and easy recipe to add to your weekly meal prep or dinner schedule. Keep reading and see the steps below! 

Total Meal Cost: $6.84

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1. Wash bell peppers, remove stickers and dry.

2. Cut off the stem of the bell peppers and remove the seeds from the inside. Take your knife and run it along the inside of the bell pepper to detach the core from the middle. Pull out the core with your hand and tap out any seeds that are still remaining from the inside.

3. Lay the bell peppers standing straight up in a glass pyrex dish

4. Now, gather your ingredients for the stuffing. You will need a can of black beans, corn, and taco seasoning. If you prefer quinoa, go for it, but brown rice will work just fine. I like to drain and rinse my black beans and corn before I place them in my mixing bowl. Throw in your taco seasoning and start working on making your rice.

5. I used about two cups of rice for my stuffing and had just a tad left over. If you would like to add in ground beef/turkey to give the tacos a more authentic "taco taste", then decrease your rice amount to one cup and add in a step to cook your meat. Begin boiling your rice on the stove top like usual. If you do not own an instant pot, then just skip over the next section of tips.

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INSTANT POT RICE:

1.Throw in a table spoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt in the pot. Add in 1 cup of rice per 1 cup of water. Since I did not use meat in this recipe, I used 2 cups of rice, therefore; I added in 2 cups of water.

2 cups of water & 2 cups of rice

Push the "rice" setting on your IP. 1 cup of rice and water will cook perfectly for 10 minutes on the rice setting. Since I added in an extra cup, I adjusted my minutes to 12 and the rice was perfect. Tighten on the lid and make sure the knob on the top is turned to "sealing". The IP will take a few minutes to warm up before it begins to cook. When it starts cooking you will see the numbers decrease until it reaches zero minutes left.

Rice setting light is on & adjusted to 10 minutes

Sealing Knob

Leave your lid on until it reaches LO:10. When you see LO:10, flip your knob to release the left over pressure. BE CAREFUL! Stay away from the steam that will come out of the knob. When the pressure is released, twist off the lid and your rice is ready to be served!

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for your instant pot or how your choose to operate it. Please read the owners manual prior to using to be as safe as possible.

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5. When your rice is done cooking, throw it into your bowl with the other ingredients. Mix together evenly so that all ingredients get a nice coat of taco seasoning on them.

6. Spoon your stuffing into your bell peppers and place your dish of bell peppers in the oven at 400 degrees. Keep cooking for 30 minutes (or until you can see your bell peppers softening).

Ready to go into the oven!

7. Take your peppers out of the oven and add on your cheese, pico, cilantro, sour cream, or other ingredients of choice. I love to slice mine up and add some tortilla chips to make a "taco salad-ish" dish.

If you made it this far in the post, you are a true "G" (as my old high school self would say). I hope this recipe works out for you and becomes a fav of yours as well. Comment down below to let me know if you tried it for yourself!

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