Does you family have a veggie that is always in your house? For us, it’s bell peppers and carrots. Both of them are refreshing snacks, pair well with dips, and stay fresh longer than most other vegetables.
When it’s nearly time for another grocery store run, I make stuffed peppers. I have the peppers, grains, dry soup mix and cajun seasoning. If I’m honest, I don’t always have the canned tomatoes, but I have found other alternatives (like white beans or chickpeas); but the tomates add a depth of flavor that’s missed when they are absent.
These peppers take no time to make, which means they are the perfect addition to my weeknight meal plans. While the peppers are steaming, I can throw together the rest of the ingredients (especially when I buy the steamable bag of mixed grains!).
Sometimes I start a pot of simmering lentils, quinoa, mung beans, or rice in the afternoon. Once it’s finished, I leave it in the pot until dinnertime. Easy-peasy. Feel the freedom to experiment with the filling! A meatless meal is a nice change, but I’ve also used a combo of ground turkey and lentils or ground beef and zucchini.
The bubbling homemade cream soup is the most flavorful edition to this recipe! It’s creamy and thick, packed with Italian herbs that boldly converge with the cajun seasoning. I have a feeling that your plain-Jane friends as well as the ones who like a bit of spice will appreciate the rich flavors in this dish.
Weeknight Stuffed Peppers
These stuffed peppers are rich in flavors and a great meatless meal for any night of the week.
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers, washed, sliced in half (through the center of the stem) and deseeded
- 2 cups cooked grains, lentils, rice, quinoa, millet, etc. Any combination is delicious!
- 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 tsp cajun or creole seasoning
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- After washing the bell peppers, cut them in half vertically (you should cut through the center of the stem). Deseed both halves of the peppers. Steam them until soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to drain and cool.
- Drizzle some of the soup into a glass 9x13 dish and spread evenly. Arrange the peppers face up in the dish.
- In a bowl, mix together the grains, tomatoes (drained) and seasoning.
- Stuff each pepper with the mixture.
- Pour the remaining soup on top of the peppers.
- Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until the mixture is bubbling.
Notes
Use our Homemade Cream of Anything Soup!
You can buy a steamable bag of mixed grains, or create any combination of grains that you like!
Using ground meat alone (1 lb), or combining both ground meat (½ lb) and grains are also options.
