Searching for a quick and easy, meal prep snack for the week? In less than 10 minutes, this Simple Bean Salad will do the trick. This recipe requires minor ingredients but is so refreshing and light.
Begin by dicing 1 1/2 bell peppers, 1/2 an onion (red or white), and 2 Roma tomatoes. Place these in a large bowl, drain and rinse 3 15 oz cans of beans (I used pinto, kidney, and chickpeas, but you can use any you have on hand or multiple of the same). Add 1 tsp Italian seasonings, 1/8 cup of olive oil, and the juice from 1 lemon. Stir well and serve with crackers, chips, what have you.
Simple Bean Salad
Ingredients:
1 1/2 bell peppers
1/2 an onion (red or white)
2 roma tomatoes
3 15 oz cans of beans (black, pinto, chickpea, kidney, whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1/8 cup olive oil
1 lemon
Instructions:
Dice your bell pepper, onion, and tomatoes. Add these to a large bowl.
Drain and rinse the beans and add these with the veggies.
Add Italian seasonings, olive oil and the juice from 1 lemon.
Dates. They are like nature’s pure sugar, except with great health benefits. They are full of fiber, nutritionally dense, and have a low glycemic index. Guilt free, natural sweetener.
Making date sugar couldn’t be any simpler. I buy a 40 oz bag of pitted dates from BJ’s. I used to buy a small 12 oz bag of Medjool Dates from the grocery store, which was enough to make about 1 week worth of sugar. The grocery store bag ran about $6.99 for the 12 oz versus BJ’s brand is $7.99 for 40 oz, so if you have a local wholesale store definitely check it out.
There are differences between Medjool dates and pitted dates but I have no desire to reinvent the wheel. If you are interested in more information or the differences between them check out this great article from My Well Being Journal here.
Before I changed to the BJ’s brand dates, I used to buy Medjool dates with pits. I would cut them in half, remove the pits, and dice them. I started dicing them after missing a pit or two. My food processor really hated that. They work fine as well. I’d say the date to water ratio was a little different so if you go with Medjool dates (with pits removed by you), play around with the water to date ratio until you find what works for you. The recipe below is going to be based on pitted dates.
So now that I use pitted dates, I still dice them because sometimes there’s still pits. Better safe than to make a giant mess. I assume that everyone’s food processor jumps around like crazy and sprays sticky date water all over when you accidentally miss a pit, right? Or maybe I just need a new food processor. That’s the thing about getting stuff as wedding gifts. 7 years down the road and you start realizing all your stuff needs replaced soon, haha.
This was the mess without missing a pit.
The steps are really simple. Dice about 2 cups of dates. I’d say about 40 pitted dates total. Place these right into your food processor and pour in about 1 cup of water. Puree until they come to your desired texture. If you are going to use them in place of sugar in a baked good, on toast, or in oatmeal, thicker will be just fine. This is how I make mine. If you use it for coffee or tea, you may want to add a little more water to thin it out. Personally, I leave mine thicker (mostly for oatmeal) and still put it in my coffee. Once it is at the texture I prefer, I place mine into a mason jar and keep it in the fridge for a week or more.
Does It Go Bad says dates last in the fridge 6-12 months and on a counter top for 1-3 months. Since you are just adding water, I can’t imagine it will go bad, but frankly, it probably will disappear before it has the chance! Oh, one last thing, don’t just rinse off your food processor lid. Scrap that off with the spatula too! I’ve found that the lid has a good 2-3 tbsp of date sugar splashed across the top.
Date Sugar
Ingredients:
about 40 pitted dates*
1 (ish) cup of water*
Instructions:
Dice up dates and place them into a food processor. Add in 1 cup of water.
Puree until dates become desired texture. Generally looking for a thick syrup like texture.
Scrap date sugar into a mason jar and save for 1 week+.
*Not the world’s most exact recipe, sorry. See notes in post for more detail.
One of the worst parts of being a vegetarian is how difficult it is to get good take out food. I live in a semi-rural area so there are not many take out options that aren’t hoagies or pizza to begin with, and if you can’t tell where I’m from given the “hoagies” you must not be from north east America. This stromboli doesn’t really leave the realm of pizza shop fare, but given that we aren’t really ordering out during the pandemic, it was the perfect time to try out this recipe.
Now I’ll mention that I diced the veggies very small because my children would be eating it too. My 1 year old did awesome with both the crust as well as the veggies and cheese. My 3.5 year old wouldn’t eat it because spinach *eye roll*, his loss on that one. The recipe comes together in about 45 minutes depending on how diced and soft you want the vegetables.
Start by dicing 1 bell pepper, 4 mushrooms, 1 cup of baby spinach, and 1/2 an onion. You may notice that there is not any onion in my pictures. I’ve been off onion lately, can’t stand lingering onion smell so I added a bit of onion powder rather than chopped onion. I blame postpartum, haha. Couldn’t handle meat after baby 1 and can’t handle onion after baby 2. Who knows if there is any truth to that.
Veggies pre-cooked
Anyways, place the diced veggies in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Saute for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables have throughly cooked down.
Veggies cooked down
While the veggies are cooking, preheat the oven to 375 and begin making your dough. This recipe was adapted from Budget Bytes No Yeast Pizza Dough. The full 2 cups from the original recipe made for a very dense stromboli so I cut it down in order to make the dough a bit thinner. Also, I used white wheat flour because that’s what I had on hand. If you want a more traditional flavor definitely stick with all purpose.
So to make the dough combine 1 3/4 cups of flour of choice (wheat or all purpose), 1 tbsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp of olive oil, and 1 cup of water. Use a fork to stir and combine. Once it has come to a ball shape, sprinkle flour on your work surface and roll out the dough.
If your dough is not already on a baking sheet, spray your baking sheet with non-stick spray or place parchment paper below and transfer the dough to the sheet. I used a pizza pan with non-stick spray and it worked fine. I did put a regular baking sheet on the lower rack to prevent any dripping from the openings on the pizza tray.
Place about 1/2 cup to 1 cup fo cheese on the dough, then add the cooked veggies followed by another 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cheese.
Fold the other half of the dough over top of the veggies and cheese. Rounding the edges to seal. Crack and scramble an egg into a small dish and baste it on to the top of the dough until lightly covered. Sprinkle garlic powder lightly across the top along with Italian seasonings.
Place the stromboli in the oven for about 20 minutes until lightly browned on top. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so before cutting. While waiting you can heat up a quick simple sauce or use jarred marinara. We just used a can of crushed tomatoes. Serve and enjoy. For our family, this made about 5-6 servings.
Mushroom and Pepper Stromboli
Ingredients:
1 bell pepper
4 mushrooms
1 cup of baby spinach
1/2 an onion (or onion powder to taste)
oil of choice
1 3/4 cups of all purpose or white wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup water
1-2 cups of cheese
1 egg
garlic powder
Italian seasonings
crushed tomatoes or jar of marinara sauce
Instructions:
Dice bell pepper, mushroom, baby spinach, and 1/2 an onion and place these in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Saute for about 15 minutes until all of the vegetables are soft.
Preheat the oven to 375 and begin making the dough. In a large bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups of flour (either all purpose or wheat) with 1 tbsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1 cup water. Use a fork to combine until the dough makes a ball shape.
Sprinkle a bit of flour on your work surface and roll out the dough until decently thin. The dough should be thick enough to move without ripping but still relatively thin (picture above).
If your dough isn’t already on the baking sheet, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick cooking spray. Transfer the dough to baking sheet. Sprinkle 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cheese on one side of the dough. Pour the veggies on top of the cheese and place the remaining 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cheese on top. I gave a range for the cheese because it just depending on your cheese to veggie ratio.
Fold the other half of the dough over the cheese and veggies and seal the edges by rolling or folding them together.
Crack an egg into a small bowl and scramble it with a fork. Baste the scrambled egg over the top of the dough, lightly covering all of the top and edges. Sprinkle some garlic powder and Italian seasonings over the top.
Place the stromboli in the oven for about 20 minutes until the top is lightly brown. Let sit about 5 minutes before serving.
While cooking you may want to make a dipping sauce. We just warmed up a can of crushed tomatoes or you can use store bought marinara sauce.
Wow. It’s been a bit since I’ve had the chance to post. Between holidays, my husband’s work schedule, and my baby going from stationary to non stop movement I’ve been having trouble keeping up. Still cooking pretty much every day, but I got to say even for me, someone who loves to cook, everyday cooking is getting to me.
My husband and I rarely go out to dinner, especially without the kids, but as soon as the pandemic is over, we’re going out to dinner. Alone. Somewhere fancy, that we have to dress up for. I want to be waited on and not have to refill a plate before I’ve even had a bite or be told that “I’m not eating this” before I have even sat down. Love the little darlings but they put a different out look on meals after eating at home for breakfast/lunch/dinner plus 2 snacks a day for the past, what, 10 months? Don’t get me wrong, we’ve ordered pizza, but we haven’t actually gone out to eat between having a newborn and the pandemic in over a year. Actually, this week is probably the 1 year mark from the last time we went out alone together.
I only remember it because I was just over 40 weeks pregnant with an almost 10 lb baby and I sort of “stuck out” (pun not technically intended) at our little mom and pop diner that we love so much. The waitress asked when I was due and I responded “three days ago”.
Anyways, I’m not sure we have any semi-fancy restaurants around here with vegetarian options, but I’ll have to do some research and considering it’s probably at least 6 more months until things start heading back to something resembling normal, I’ve got time.
So while I wait for the chance to go out to a lovely dinner I don’t have to prepare, I’ll keep cooking. This soup is delicious and very simple to make. Best part is that it doesn’t require a lot of prep work. Begin by dicing 1/2 an onion, 1 carrot, and 2 celery stalks. I had celery that was previously diced and frozen, which worked just fine. Add the diced veggies and 1/2 tsp garlic with some olive oil to a large soup pot. Saute this for about 10 minutes until the carrots begin to soften.
Once the veggies have softened, add 1 tsp Italian seasonings. Saute until fragrant. Add 8 cups of vegetable broth, a drained and rinsed 15 oz can of white beans, and 28 oz of diced tomatoes. Once the boiling add about 1/2 a pound of pasta (I used elbows). Lower the temperature to medium and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Finally add 1 heaping cup of frozen mixed vegetable and continue simmering for 5-10 minutes until they have cooked through. Test the pasta to make sure it is fully cooked before serving.
White Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 an onion
1 carrot
2 celery stalks
1/2 tsp garlic
olive oil (or oil of choice)
1 tsp Italian seasonings
8 cups of vegetable broth
15 oz can white beans (drained and rinsed)
28 oz diced tomatoes
1/2 lb pasta of choice (I used elbow)
1 heaping cup of frozen mixed vegetables
Instructions:
Dice 1/2 an onion, 1 carrot, and 2 celery stalks. Place these in a large soup pot with garlic and olive oil. Saute for about 10 minutes until the carrots have softened, then add 1 tsp Italian seasonings. Continue sauteing until fragrant.
Add 8 cups of vegetable broth, the white beans, and 28 oz of diced tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling add pasta and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add 1 heaping cup of frozen mixed vegetables and cook for about 5-10 more minutes. Test to make sure the pasta is fully cooked and serve!
This easy meal came around on Monday when I realized I completely forgot to prep lunch for the week. My youngest was down for a nap and I had some pita that needed used up so I quickly pressed some tofu, dipped it in some teriyaki sauce, and put it into bake. I needed more than that so quickly chopped the veggies I had available and cooked those too. In 30 minutes, I had a great lunch ready. Now I prefer this in pita with a bit of hummus, but you could totally serve it over rice or in a tortilla. Also, use whatever vegetable you have on hand. Some good alternates would be mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, or eggplant as they all roast at a similar temperature and time.
First get started on pressing the tofu. I’ve talked about pressing tofu in Air Fryer Turmeric Tofu but I briefly touch on how I did it for this. As with most dinners where you use tofu, you’ll want extra firm tofu. Drain out all the water. Fold a hand towel in half and lay it across a baking sheet. Slice the tofu into even sections. Honestly, I change the way I cut it every time and it usually just depends how thick I want the pieces to be. In this case, I cut it in to 8 slices and laid each across the baking sheet.
I find it easier to get even thickness in the slices when cutting this way (vertical cuts) instead of horizontal cuts which would give you 4-5 slices but in the grand scheme of things, it won’t make a huge difference. So, now that you have your slices, place another hand towel on top followed by another baking sheet. Fill a 9×13 pyrex or baking dish with water and place it on top of the baking sheet.
Let this sit for 10-15 minutes. While waiting on the tofu, begin dicing all the vegetables and preheat the oven to 350. I used 4 bell peppers, 1/2 an onion, 3 radishes, and 1 small head of broccoli. Place all of the vegetables into a large bowl. Cube the pressed tofu and add it to the bowl with the vegetables. Pour 1 tbsp of olive oil, or oil of your choice, over the tofu and veggies along with 3 tbsp of teriyaki sauce.
Dry the 9×13 you used to press the tofu and spray with cooking spray. Pour the veggies and tofu in to the 9×13 making sure that they are well dispersed, like not all of tofu in one area of the pan. Place it in the oven for 30-40 minutes, checking about 1/2 way through. Once it’s done, top it with sesame seeds. If you have a pan that’s bigger than 9×13, feel free to use it. My pan was pretty full when I put it in the oven but it will cook down a bit anyways.
Precooked.
Teriyaki Tofu and Veggies
Ingredients:
4 bell peppers
1/2 an onion
3 radishes
1 small head of broccoli
16 oz extra firm tofu
3 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp olive oil (or oil of choice)
Instructions:
Cut tofu and press for about 10 minutes (*see notes above if you don’t know how to press tofu*).
Chop all vegetables, placing them in a large bowl as you go.
Once tofu has been pressed, cube and place it in the bowl with the vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 350. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 3 tbsp teriyaki sauce to the bowl with the tofu and veggies. Mix well to make sure everything gets coated.
Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, pour the veggies and tofu into the baking dish making sure they disperse well (ie. that the tofu doesn’t all end up in one area).
Place the baking dish in the oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring about half way through.
Serve in a pita wrap with hummus, in a grain bowl, or over rice.
Admittedly, while this recipe is mine, the idea was not. I had a co-worker a few years back who told me about them. I forgot about them for years until recently and they’ve been a huge hit with my husband and kids. Frankly, I’m really not an eggplant fan. I don’t mind it diced and roasted with other vegetables but I struggle with it in many other forms. However, with eggplant pizza, you don’t get that mushy texture that sometimes happens with eggplant. So if you think you don’t like eggplant, give this a try and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Begin by slicing the eggplant in to 12 slices. You want the slices to be on the thicker side. Too thin and they will be difficult to remove from the baking sheet. Discard the top and bottom pieces and place the slices on a baking sheet (with parchment paper/silpat mat). Preheat the oven to 400.
Precooked
Pour 1/4 cup of oil in to a small bowl. Brush the oil on top of each slice. Place the baking sheets in the oven for 15 minutes. If you prefer it to be more crispy than tender, 15 minutes should do it. If you prefer it more tender (closer to “mushy”) 20 minutes should work. Once they have cooked, remove from the oven and drop the temperature to 350.
After roasting: *on the right you can see my thin spots burned a bit. Tasted fine, but that’s why thicker is better*
Gather the toppings. You will need about 1 1/2 cups of canned crushed tomatoes, 1/2 tbsp of Italian seasonings, 2 cups of mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. Spread the crushed tomatoes on each of the slices, followed by a sprinkle of Italian seasonings on each slice. Finally, top each slice with mozzarella and a sprinkle of bread crumbs.
All the toppings.
Place the baking sheets in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese has fully melted.
Eggplant Pizza 3 ways: Mom & Dad, baby, and toddler.
Eggplant Pizza
Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 tbsp Italian seasonings
2 cups mozzarella
1/4 cup bread crumbs
Instructions:
Slice eggplant into 12 slices, keeping them on the thicker side. If they are too thin, they will be hard to remove from the try. Discard the top and bottom and place the slices on a prepared baking sheet. Preheat oven to 400.
Pour 1/4 cup of oil and brush the oil on top of each slice. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Remove the baking sheets and drop the oven temperature to 350. Spread the sauce, Italian seasoning, mozzarella, and bread crumbs on each slice.
Place the pizzas back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has fully melted.
I’m in love with my air fryer. We have the Insignia 3.4 qt Air Fryer. I definitely have not taken full advantage of the many, many uses of an air fryer and the multitude of ways that it can improve a dinner or a food (like air fried broccoli, haven’t tried it yet, but plan to!). There is a whole host of benefits to Air Frying vs traditional deep frying but on top of the health benefits, a fear of popping oil is enough for me to be thankful for the air fryer, haha. Cook and Brown wrote a wonderful article about the differences between Air Frying and Deep Frying as well as the history and pros/cons to both. Worth checking out if you are curious.
So, I have been making Air Fried Old Bay Potatoes for a couple months now. It’s taken me forever to get this post up between my husband’s work hours, a 3 year old who has completely stopped napping or even doing quiet time alone, a 9 month old who never stops moving, and trying to fit in some kind of exercise, my ability to get posts up has taken a back seat to just cooking and getting dinner on the table as quickly as possible.
Husband went in late today so I actually had the opportunity to type something up. As we had these last night with dinner these were at the top of the list. They are so good and so simple and make you feel like you are eating a deep fried food without the hassle of splattering oil. We made ours with Old Bay because it’s delicious but also nostalgic for my husband and I.
We went to Penn State and there is a restaurant up there that serves Old Bay fries. We used to walk from our apartment to there on dates. Frankly, our new date spot isn’t much different (See Veggie Reubens) . Since we made these to share with the kids, we didn’t go overly heavy with the seasoning. If you want it heavier, just add a bit more by like 1/2 tsp until it’s where you want it. Alternatively, if you aren’t an Old Bay fan, feel free to change the seasoning to rosemary, Italian seasoning, cumin, just salt and pepper.
Start by dicing up 4 red potatoes (washed and scrubbed). I’ve also done these with russet and they turned out just fine. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and pour 2 tsp of olive oil over them. Add 2 tsp of Old Bay seasoning and stir well until all the potato pieces are coated. Place about half of the potatoes in the air frying basket.
Personally I never bother with the preheating and do not feel that these need preheated. So place the basket into the air fryer. Set the temperature to 375 and time to 16 minutes. After the first 8 minutes, from the basket and give them a shake before replacing them for the remaining 8 minutes. Repeat with the second half of the potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste and try not to munch on the cooked ones while waiting for the second batch.
Air Fried Old Bay Potatoes
Ingredients:
4 red potatoes (washed and scrubbed)
2 tsp olive oil (or oil of choice)
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
Instructions:
Dice 4 red potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Pour 2 tsp olive oil on top and add 2 tsp Old Bay. Stir well until all potatoes are coated.
Place about 1/2 of the potatoes in the air fryer basket. Place the basket in the air fryer and set the temperature to 375 and time to 16 minutes. Remove the basket from the air fryer after about 8 minutes. Give the potatoes a gentle shake and return the basket to the fryer for the remaining 8 minutes.
Repeat with the second half of the potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve!
I had totally different intentions when I made this meal. These were meant to be copy-cat like PF Chang’s lettuce wraps, but when I realized I was missing green onion, cashews, and lettuce, we still needed dinner and at that point I was set on a similar taste so stir fry it became. Frankly the whole reason I wanted this was for the water chestnuts. Water chestnuts are delicious and have a wonderful crunch. According to Healthline, they also have a multitude of health benefits. I feel like I don’t put water chestnuts to use enough, I’ll have to work on that.
I chose to press and pre-cook the tofu because my husband prefers the texture of oven cooked tofu over sauted. Here are instructions if you want to pre-cook the tofu: Press the tofu for about 15 minutes. I have pressing tips in the Air Fryer Turmeric Tofu or there’s plenty of YouTube videos about it. Bake the pressed tofu in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
If you are not pre-cooking the tofu, still press it, then cube the tofu. At this point, drain and rinse an 8 oz can of water chestnuts. Dice 1/2 a yellow squash, 1/2 an onion, and the water chestnuts.
All the things.
In a small amount of oil, saute the onion and yellow squash until the squash has softened. While waiting on this, make your sauce. Combine 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 3 tbsp hoisin, 2 tsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp garlic chili sauce, and 1/2 tsp garlic. Whisk well to combine.
Add the cubed tofu, water chestnuts, and sauce to the veggies. Continue to saute until the sauce thickens. Serve over rice, by itself or as a lettuce wrap. Feel free to top with cashews and/or green onion
Tofu Stir Fry
Ingredients:
16 oz package of extra firm tofu
1/2 medium yellow squash
1/2 an onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
8oz can of water chestnuts
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Optional additions: lettuce (real lettuce wrap), cashews, green onion, rice
Instructions:
Dice tofu, 1/2 a yellow squash, 1/2 an onion and the drained and rinsed water chestnuts.
Saute the squash and onion in a little bit of oil until the squash has softened and the onion is translucent.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tbsp hoisin sauce, 2 tsp rice vinegar, and 1 tsp chili garlic sauce. Whisk to combine.
Once the squash and onion are cooked, add in the diced tofu and water chestnuts. Saute for an additional few minutes then add the sauce. Continue to stir occasionally until the sauce has thickened. Serve over rice or as a lettuce wrap.
This was not a recipe that I intended to make a blog post about. This was an evening gone wrong and I just wanted some comfort food in a hurry. However, after throwing this together, it was so good it needed a home on the blog. Now as it wasn’t intended for the blog, I only have the end results photos, but as it’s tomato soup, it really doesn’t look much different from beginning to end anyways.
In a large pot, combine 6 oz tomato paste, 15 oz tomato sauce, 24 oz milk, 1/2 tbsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast), 1/2 tsp sugar, and a bit of salt to taste. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, that’s it! Serve with a side of crackers, grilled cheese, garlic bread or Veggie Reubens.
Timely Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
6 oz tomato paste
15 oz tomato sauce
24 oz milk
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
In a large pot, combine 6 oz tomato paste, 15 oz tomato sauce, 24 oz milk, 1/2 tbsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Bring soup to a boil, stirring frequently. Once it is boiling, ready to serve with your choice of side dish.
My plan was for this to actually a crockpot stuffed peppers recipe. However, I forgot to set it up each day and by Thursday evening I needed to make something for dinner with what we had on hand so this is what I came up with. It turned into a happy accident that tastes great and is done in less than an hour.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of cooked rice, 15 oz black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 cup of corn, 15 oz diced tomatoes (drained), 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or liquid aminos), 1/2 tsp of Italian seasonings, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to combine.
Quarter 5 bell peppers and lay them on the bottom of a prepared 9×13 baking pan. It’s okay if they slightly overlap. Pour the rice mixture over top the bell peppers spreading out evenly. Dice 2 bell peppers and sprinkle them over top the rice mixture along with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and place the baking pan in a preheated (375) oven for about 35 minutes.
Pre-aluminum foil
Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
15 oz canned black beans
1 cup corn
15 oz diced tomatoes
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or liquid aminos)
1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
1 cup cheddar cheese (divided)
salt and pepper (to taste)
7 bell peppers
Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of cooked rice with 15 oz black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 cup corn, 15 oz diced tomatoes (drained and rinsed), 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp Italian seasonings, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to combine.
Quarter 5 bell peppers and lay them on the bottom of a prepared 9×13 pan. Pour the rice mixture over the peppers and spread evenly.
Dice 2 bell peppers and sprinkle across the top of the rice mixture along with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar.
Preheat oven to 375, cover the 9×13 with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Mama Bear Feeds Family 