Summer or winter? When do you prefer to indulge in southwestern flavors, deliciously mixed into an array of colorful bell peppers?
I’m willing to argue that this stuffed bell pepper recipe can be enjoyed year-round, warm or cold, sunny or snowy! The mix of veggies and filling ground chicken and quinoa make this a wonderful way to balance produce and protein in your diet. The southwestern roots hold strong with the combination of corn, onions, bell peppers, pepper jack cheese, and the specific spice blend. Mmm, a hearty, savory dish the entire family is almost sure to enjoy! And while today’s recipe includes ground chicken or turkey, this can easily be transformed into a vegetarian recipe by omitting the meat, or even vegan by swapping the meat for mushrooms and using your favorite dairy-free cheese substitute!
Crowd Favorite
You know the feeling, you are hosting a large weekend get together, and while everyone else is worrying about what they will wear and what bottle of wine to bring, you are stressing extensively over the menu. How will it be possible to feed several mouths with food that everyone can enjoy and agree on. Not to mention when you have different age groups to please and different diets to adhere to. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but the importance of the food’s presentation seems to skyrocket like never before when you have a crowd to feed.
That’s when these delicious bell peppers come into play – they are an absolute crowd favorite! The meat, quinoa, and beans make even one serving super filling and satisfying, and the amount of veggies boost up the nutritional value, and by serving the mixture in the different colored bell peppers, they become absolutely adorable and pleasing to the eyes for the kids and adults alike.
Fresh Produce
As with any tasty recipe, the base even before spices and herbs hit the pan is definitely going to be the quality of ingredients you use. And being that we are in the current health crisis, convenience and safety in obtaining your ingredients must be put into play. By starting with a simple search of how to order vegetables online you will find that FarmboxRx offers fresh produce delivery to homes around the country! If you can save an unnecessary trip to the grocery store, why not utilize having groceries delivered to your home, so that you can check one more thing off that massive to-do list, without needing to jump in your car and head out to the supermarket! And right now, FarmboxRx includes seasonal and farm-fresh bell peppers, perfect for this recipe!
Did you know orange, red, and yellow bell peppers contain 3 times the vitamin C levels as an orange? Pretty impressive! The garlic provides anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties, while the onions assist in removing toxins from the body. Another boost! Body fueling proteins can be found through every bite and multiple sources be it the ground meat, quinoa, or black beans. These southwestern stuffed bell peppers checkoff nutritional boxes across the board!
Ingredients
6 large bell peppers
1 lb lean ground chicken or turkey
15 oz can black beans
½ cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup cherry tomatoes
⅓ cup yellow onion
2 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tbsp cumin
3/4 tsp salt
2 clove garlic
½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
Directions
- Prepare bell peppers by cutting off the stem and carefully removing the seeds and stems.
- Prepare the mix-ins. Strain and rinse beans, halve cherry tomatoes, finely chop yellow onion, and mince garlic.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, beans, quinoa, corn, tomatoes, onion, chili powder, cumin, salt, and minced garlic. Stir until well-combined using a spoon or your hands.
- Stuff bells peppers with the mixture. In a large slow cooker, add about one cup of water, or enough water to fill the slow cooker with a ½ inch of water.
- Carefully place the stuffed peppers in the slow cooker standing upright. Note: you may have to stack the stuffed peppers. That’s okay, just be sure they are standing upright!
- Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 7-8 hours, or until the center of the peppers reaches 165 Fahrenheit, and peppers are fork tender.
- Top each pepper with cheese and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Remove from the slow cooker and serve hot!
Pro Chef Prep
My adventures in the kitchen have been ones of learning, failure, success, and much trial and error. There are several little techniques that quite frankly, we can only learn from doing it so many times until it becomes like second nature. We learn that even if we have a way of doing things, there might also be another way of doing things, specifically kitchen-related cutting techniques, that are better. Yes, yes, even if we learned it that way from our parents or grandparents.
One of these techniques is cutting bell peppers into little bowls. I’ve found that I was doing it wrong most of my food-experimenting life, and that there is a simple method for easily removing the seeds every time! And although it is a rather simple procedure, pristinely opened bell peppers create the entire home for all of the delicious goodness that will be going inside.
Get out the tools: a sharp kitchen knife, along with a smaller paring knife, a good, sturdy cutting board, and of course your freshly washed and patted dry bell peppers.
- Place the pepper on its side and firmly slice off the top portion. (P.S. I recommend keeping the green stems on!)
- Next, using your paring knife, remove the seeds by lightly running your knife along the inside, making a circular motion around the center. Remove the seeds and use clean hands to remove any stragglers.
And that’s it! That’s the super simple pepper prep (try saying that 5 times) before halving the tomatoes and chopping your garlic and onion. Now let’s jump right into the recipe! If you give it try, make sure to share the photo journey with us by tagging @FarmboxRx and using #FarmboxRx. Happy cooking!
Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers
Print Recipe Pin RecipeEquipment
- Colander
- Large mixing bowl
- Large slow cooker
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers large
- 1 lb ground chicken or turkey
- 15 oz black beans canned
- 1/2 cup quinoa uncooked
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup corn frozen
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/3 cup yellow onion
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese shredded
Instructions
- Prepare bell peppers by cutting off the stem and carefully removing the seeds and stems.
- Prepare the mix-ins. Strain and rinse beans, halve cherry tomatoes, finely chop yellow onion, and mince garlic.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, beans, quinoa, corn, tomatoes, onion, chili powder, cumin, salt, and minced garlic. Stir until well-combined using a spoon or your hands.
- Stuff bells peppers with the mixture. In a large slow cooker, add about one cup of water, or enough water to fill the slow cooker with a ½ inch of water.
- Carefully place the stuffed peppers in the slow cooker standing upright.Note: you may have to stack the stuffed peppers. That’s okay, just be sure they are standing upright!
- Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 7-8 hours, or until the center of the peppers reaches 165º F, and peppers are fork tender.
- Top each pepper with cheese and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Remove from the slow cooker and serve hot!