Hi Everyone! I hope you are doing great! I want to wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! I hope this 2014 will bring you lots of joy, happiness and success in everything you do! If you are like me, you probably ate a whole lot during the holidays, and now are trying to go back to a healthy diet! So today I'm sharing with you this awesome and very healthy recipe, it only has around 220 calories per serving, it's full of flavor and nutritious and delicious ingredients that are good for your body! I hope you give it a try!
Makes 4 Stuffed peppers
Ingredients:
- 4 Poblano Peppers
- 1¼ cups cooked Rice ( I used brown rice, you can use whatever rice you have leftover!)
- ½ cup Beans (any kind you like)
- ½ cup Corn Kernels
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- ¼ chopped cilantro
- 1 finely chopped tomato
- 1 shredded carrot
- ½ cup shredded Vegetarian Cheese or any cheese you like
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin olive Oil
- ½ teaspoon minced Garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon dry Oregano
- Salt to taste
- Ground Black Pepper to taste
- 1 lime (optional)
Preheat oven to 375ºF (or you can use the microwave!)
Cook the Poblano peppers in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, just to make the a little softer. Do not over cooked them, you don't want them to be extremely soft. Only 4 minutes and they will have the perfect texture! Remove from the water and rinse them or place them in cold water to stop the cooking process. then set them aside for a minute.
In a large bowl, combine the Olive oil, with the garlic and the lime juice, microwave this mixture for 1 minute just so the garlic will start releasing all it's flavor, then season it with 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, salt and black pepper to taste. Stir together, and add in the green onion, tomato, half of the cilantro (the rest of the cilantro is for garnish), also add in the shredded carrot, beans, rice, corn kernels, and half of the shredded cheese, stir together until well combined, taste the flavor and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Grab the poblano peppers and with a small knife make a small opening right in the center of each poblano pepper, you want the opening/cut to be big enough to be able to fill the peppers with the rice mixture, but be very careful not to slice the poblano peppers all the way through. You can remove the seeds from the inside of the pepper if you want. I don't really mind them, so I always leave them in there. Now fill the peppers with the bean and rice mixture, place them in a baking dish, sprinkle the rest of the cheese over them, and bake them at 375ºF for 12-15 minutes or until well heated through. Garnish with more shredded cheese and fresh cilantro! (If you prefer, you can place them in the microwave for about 3 minutes or until heated through.)
Enjoy!