Confections from the Cody Kitchen: Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers

I've seen stuffed bell peppers on several sites over the world wide web recently, but to be honest they all look like too much work. I know that sounds incredibly lazy, but I don't want to spend 45 minutes on a measly side dish that calls for 20+ ingredients. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll save those types of endeavors for special occasions.

And I'm guessing I'm not the only one in this boat who needs meal ideas that don't take Martha Stewart-esque efforts to put together. Yes, those are great and I do feature a lot more in-depth recipes on this blog, but I also want to bring you realistic recipes as well. Ones you actually might use because they're doable on a weeknight when you don't get home until 5:00.

My solution to this stuffed bell pepper issue turned out to be quite easy.....instead of stuffing the peppers with a mile long list of rice and spices, I'd just use Zatarain's. I know, I know...that's cheating. But on a night when you need something quick yet semi-impressive it works wonders and tastes delicious.

And so I present to you my 1-2-3-4 peppers. Literally all you have to do to prepare these adorable cups is cook the peppers to soften them, prepare the rice, spoon the rice into the peppers and top with cheese, and then bake. Boom. You're done.

Of course if you really want to complicate things you can add chicken :)

Like? I do.

Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers CCK Original
Printable Version
2 green bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded
1 box Zatarain's black beans and rice
cheese (I used white American)

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare Zatarain's rice according to package instructions.

Place prepared bell peppers into bot of boiling water to soften slightly, about 4 minutes. You want them to soften a bit, but you want them to still hold their shape well and support the rice you'll put in them. Remove bell peppers and pat dry.