All of the sudden most of the Bell peppers in the green house all got ripe at once. Time for a real winter treat of stuffed green peppers. Every since I wrote the piece on Flavoring a Whole Food  Plant-Based Diet,

I have been hungry for them, so this is my golden opportunity! There is something very satisfying about food that tastes this good, has great nutrition and is easy to make. Here is how I do it.

Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash and then core and seed four bell peppers; make sure to remove all seeds and excess skin. You can use green, yellow or red peppers. When washed set aside.
3. In a pan sauté:
   • 1 chopped onion
   • 2 chopped celery stocks
   • garlic to taste
4. You may add a mix of  hot or tasty peppers to the sauté mix, or omit them completely.  I usually use
   • 1 jalapeno pepper diced very small
   • 1 can mild dice Ortega chilis
5. When the onions are clear add herbs and seasoning:
   • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
   • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
   • salt to taste
   • pepper to taste
6. Add liquids and simmer for 3 minutes
   • 1 cup salsa to the mix and simmer for 2 minutes. You can used any jarred salsa or you can make it from scratch
   • 1 can diced tomatoes
   • OPTIONAL: add 1 can drained black beans for additional protein 
7. Add 1 1/2 cup precooked brown rice (any precooked rice is fine) to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally so it does not stick
8. Stuff the rice mixture into each pepper
9. Place in a shallow baking dish and cover the bottom with additional salsa
10. Cover the baking dish and peppers in foil and bake for 1 hour
11. Uncover and test pepper for doneness; put them back in the oven to bake for 15-30 minutes uncovered
12. You may want to top these with grated cheese 5 minutes before serving

Your prep time is about 20 minutes, the rest is baking. If the mixture includes black bean I will serve it with salad as a main dish. With out the beans it makes a wonderful side dish.