Mexican Stuffed Peppers

The days are longer, the weather is warmer and no one wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen this time of year. It must be summer. Even though I don't want to be in the kitchen for hours, we still need to eat, so my crock pot keeps a spot on the counter even through the summer. It's perfect for creating excellent dinners without heating up the kitchen or keeping me away from the summer fun. So I'm thrilled to have this recipe for stuffed peppers with a Mexican twist to cook right in the crock pot. They are delicious, filling and super easy to make. Mexican flavors are always a win in our house and these peppers definitely make us happy. Enchilada sauce, seasoned rice and diced tomatoes with green chiles and more get added to ground beef for a delicious filling to these tender pepper just bursting with flavor. This is one of those recipes that makes me so excited to be part of Secret Recipe Club!

What's Secret Recipe Club?  Each Monday a group of bloggers post a recipe they've made from another blogger's repertoire.  Nobody knows who's featuring their blog until that day and it's a fun chance to visit new blogs and try something different. Visit some of the other bloggers in my group by checking out the blog hop at the bottom of this post.  To learn more about Secret Recipe Club, click here. I was thrilled to get the chance to cook from The Hobo Kitchen by Ellie...again! I cooked from Ellie's blog when it was the Bitchin' Kitchen and made her amazing Scalloped Corn with Bacon. Ellie has some amazing food to try, but I want to start with how funny she is and the fact that her recipe index has categories for Boozy Cupcakes, Grilled Cheese and Mexican. Plus, she had me at these cupcakes that showed me her true loyalty as an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan--how could I not love her? I'm not sure how I missed that the first time I was assigned to her, but I'm so glad to have learned that tidbit about this great cook. As per usual, I struggles with my choices this month--would it be Potato Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies or Nutella Donuts? Caprese Chicken or Triple Chocolate Muffins? It finally came down to Crock Pot Salsa Verde or these Mexican Stuffed Peppers, but I will definitely make that Salsa Verde and soon. Do yourself a favor and go drool over Ellie's beautiful blog. You won't leave without a long list of tasty dishes to make.

A few slight changes to Ellie's recipe included a slight decrease in the cheese, a little more rice and the addition of diced tomatoes with green chiles. Instead of Mexican rice, I used brown rice that I seasoned up a bit. Be sure to get really big peppers, but because this recipe makes a lot of filling. But I liked the idea of overflowing peppers rather than many smaller peppers. I left the cheese off the top but it could make a nice touch. Serve up with sour cream, salsa and a fresh green salad for a full and delicious meal.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1 cup cooked rice
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
4 large bell peppers, any color
1 pound ground beef
10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 cup enchilada sauce
3/4 cup Monterrey jack cheese
1/2 cup diced onion
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup water (not pictured)

Add cumin and taco seasoning to the rice and stir to coat. Set aside.

Wash and remove the tops of the peppers and reserve. Hollow out the seeds and membranes, then arrange the peppers in the stoneware of a 4 quart crock pot.

Dice the tops of the peppers and add to a large bowl with the seasoned rice, beef, diced tomatoes with green chiles, enchilada sauce, cheese, diced onion and salt and pepper to taste.

Squish the meat and ingredients together to combine into a filling.

Divide meat mixture into fourths and stuff each pepper with as much filling as possible, and then stuff some more.

Pour water into the base of the crock pot, avoiding pouring over the peppers. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Transfer to plates or bowls, top with sour cream or salsa and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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