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!
