Cheesy Topped Stuffed Peppers

yield: SERVES 5 prep time: 20 MINUTES cook time: 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES total time: 1 HOUR 35 MINUTES

Stuffed Peppers – the ultimate stuffed peppers with ground beef (mince), rice and a delicious melted cheesy topping. An easy One Pot to Oven recipe.

Ingredients

• 1lb (455g) of extra lean ground beef (beef mince)
• 1 cup (185g) of long grain rice
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 150g (5.5oz) of zucchini (courgette), finely diced
• 1 tablespoon of paprika (not smoked)
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• ½ teaspoon of onion powder
• ½ teaspoon of dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon of dried basil
• 1 400g can of diced tomatoes
• 1.5 tablespoons of tomato paste (puree)
• splash of Worcestershire sauce
• 2.3 cups (560ml) of beef stock
• salt and black pepper
• ¾ cup (180ml) of passata
• 5 large mixed bell peppers (use a mixture of red, orange and yellow varieties)
• 100g of mozzarella, grated – 2 HEa’s
• 90g of cheddar, grated – 3 HEa’s
• olive oil cooking spray
• fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Add the ground beef, onion and garlic to a pan oven a medium-high heat and cook until lightly browned.
2. Add the paprika, cumin, onion powder, dried oregano, parsley and basil and stir to coat.
3. Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, zucchini, splash of Worcestershire sauce and rice. Stir to combine, ensuring you scrape anything stuck to the bottom of the pan.
4. Add in the stock, bring to a boil, cover, then simmer (liquid should still slightly bubble), when stock is just absorbed (should take approx 10 minutes). Turn off heat, but leave with the lid on for an additional 12 minutes. The steam trapped underneath will continue to cook the rice to perfection.
5. While this is cooking, slice all the peppers in half, so you have 10 pepper boats and scoop out all seeds or white flesh parts and discard.
6. Preheat oven to 200c/FAN 180c/400f or gas mark 6
7. Place them all skin side down in a large baking dish or tray.
8. Spray over the top of the peppers with the olive oil cooking spray and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
9. Once beef and rice mixture is cooked, taste and season as needed with salt and black pepper.
10. Spoon the beef and rice mixture into the pepper boats.
11. Spoon the passata onto the top (this helps keep them moist).
12. Top with the grated cheese and then loosely cover with some foil (watch you don’t press the foil down onto the peppers or the cheese will stick).
13. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and place back in the oven and bake until cheese is all melted and golden (another 15 minutes approximately).
14. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Notes

This recipe is gluten free, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly

• Slimming World – 1 HEa per serving
• WW Green Smart Points – 12 per serving (11 if using extra lean ground turkey or chicken)
• WW Blue Smart Points – 12 per serving (10 if using extra lean ground turkey or chicken)
• WW Purple Smart Points – 12 per serving (10 if using extra lean ground turkey or chicken)
• Gluten Free – use a gluten free stock and Worcestershire sauce (or omit the latter if you can’t find gluten free)

SUITABLE FOR FREEZING