Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers

I had never made stuffed bell peppers before tonight and now that I think about it, neither did my mom when I was growing up. But it’s always been a dish I really like. I had some ground beef in the freezer and thought this might be a good use for it tonight. So I started pulling spices and things out of the cabinet and sort of made it up as I went. And what I came up with was a very delicious concoction. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, we also had corn bread muffins with dinner tonight that my husband “made”. Actually they were Jiffy cornbread muffins from a box, that I mixed together and he spooned into the muffin tin. But he wanted me to be sure to mention that he “makes a mean cornbread.” Yes, that was an exact quote.

Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers

4 bell peppers (I used green but you could use any color)
1/2 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag of quick cooking white rice
1/2-3/4 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup beef broth
3/4 cup shredded mexican cheese (I used the pre-shredded bagged kind)
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

(You can adjust the spices according to your taste to make it more or less spicy)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Begin by prepping all your ingredients (chopping the onions, garlic, cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds). Boil the water for the rice. Once you have the rice cooking, heat a skillet over medium/hi heat and add a little olive oil (about 2 Tbsp). Add the onion to the pan and let cook for about 5 min. Add garlic and ground beef. Cook until the ground beef is done and drain. Put the ground beef mixture back into the skillet and add chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Next add the beef broth. Drain the rice once it’s done and add that to the skillet with all other ingredients. Add corn and stir to combine. At this point add the salt and pepper to taste. Stir in mexican cheese until melted. Place your bell peppers on a baking sheet and fill with the beef and rice mixture. Top with a additional cheese if desired. Bake for about 25 min.