Stuffed Peppers

A friend shared this recipe last week and it sounded so yummy and easy!  I don’t make two meals for my family each night as my girls really do try (and like) most of the recipes I make.  But tonight’s dish combined several ingredients and I didn’t think my girls would appreciate the flavors.  So, I made them a vegetable stir-fry instead.  I was very wrong as they loved it and wanted seconds!  I tell you this to encourage you on your journey of feeding your kids nutritious meals.  Never underestimate what they will eat and keep trying new foods each week.   It’s a journey for them as well, and I bet you will look back in a year and see how big their rainbow of colors food chart has gotten because you kept trying!

Ingredients:
4 small to medium green, red, or yellow sweet peppers
1 cup cooked brown rice

1 15 ounce can chili beans or baked beans (we recommended Eden's Chili Beans)

1 15 ounce can or two 8-ounce cans no-salt-added tomato sauce

1/3
cup finely chopped onion

Chili powder (optional)

Directions:

Remove tops, membranes, and seeds from sweet peppers. Chop enough tops to make 1/3 cup and set aside. If necessary, cut a thin slice from the bottom of each pepper so they sit flat. In a medium bowl stir together rice and undrained beans.  Spoon mixture into the peppers. Pour tomato sauce into the bottom of a slow cooker and add reserved chopped pepper and onion to the sauce. Place peppers, filled side up, in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 6-1/2 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3-1/2 hours.  To serve, transfer peppers to serving plate and cut in half, if desired. Spoon tomato sauce over peppers and sprinkle with chili powder if desired.

enjoy-

leanne

Note: (This recipe was adapted from the Skinny Slow-Cooker Better Homes and Garden Magazine.)