Rice and Sweet Pepper Bowl

Rice and Sweet Pepper Bowl (adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, Servings: 4, Total Time: 30 minutes)

Ingredients

·         4 medium green, red, yellow, and/or orange sweet peppers

·         1 8.8 oz. pouch cooked Spanish-style rice (I actually used a 5.6 oz. pkg.)

·         1 14 ½ oz. can stewed tomatoes

·         ½ cup Taco shredded cheese

Directions

1.      Quarter peppers; remove stems, seeds, and ribs. Place in 2-quart square microwave-safe baking dish. Add 2 Tbsp. water. Cover with parchment paper. Microwave on high 4 minutes, until crisp-tender; turn dish once if no turntable. Remove peppers from dish; drain and set aside.

2.      Microwave rice according to package directions.

3.      Drain tomatoes, reserving 2 Tbsp. liquid.

4.      In baking dish layer half the peppers (cut sides up), rice, drained tomatoes, cheese, and remaining peppers (cut sides down). Drizzle with reserved tomato liquid. Cover with parchment. Microwave on high 5 to 6 minutes, turning once if no turntable. Let stand 5 minutes.

I didn’t realize how far I strayed from the original recipe until I started putting in the ingredients above.  That’s OK – it worked out!  I only used yellow, orange, and red peppers – I like their taste more than green peppers when I make a stuffed pepper (or stuffed pepper-esque) recipe.  As noted above, I used a 5.6 oz. package (Lipton Sides) because that’s what we had in the pantry.  I also used shredded Taco cheese instead of Monterey Jack with Jalapenos.  I also omitted the oregano, parmesan, and olive oil – I wanted this to be more of a Mexican dish.

I’ve never microwaved rice or peppers to cook them and I was surprised at how well this worked – although, baking and stovetop methods would work just as well – this was just quicker.  The veggies remained very crisp throughout the process (and when reheated for leftovers).  It was a nice contrast to the soft tomatoes and rice.  I could have used more cheese, maybe 1 cup, but ½ cup worked just fine.  I’ll let my husband add more if he wants! 

Although this is low in calories, the rice does up the sodium, so just make sure it is a part of a balanced diet.  I do plan on making this recipe again, though, I may use Taco Rice or some other flavor, just to play around with it again.  It’s really easy to make your own.  Enjoy!