Stuffed Peppers with Spanish Sticky Rice

I know. I'm incredibly original. You are blown away by my originality with this recipe, aren't you? I sometimes have these genius ideas that just come to me out of no where. I am positive you have never seen peppers stuffed with meat before, especially on a paleo website, right?

 

Ok, let's get real now. Almost every paleo blog you follow has had a stuffed pepper recipe at some point huh? Well, I wanted to be cool and gave into peer pressure. I made the peppers. And they were awesome. I'm officially part of the cool paleo blogger crowd. I've always wanted to be cool.

 

These cute little buggers (not to be confused with boogers) cooked up in a crockpot overnight so they were smelling mighty fresh when I woke up! I also paired this meal with some sticky Spanish rice. Why is it Spanish and not Mexican? I don't know. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe. Either way, it was incredibly good. Especially the next day. Leftovers rock. I'm packing a couple of these guys for Regionals tomorrow. Yes, it's TOMORROW! Am I nervous? Not yet. Will I be sick to my stomach tomorrow? Oh hells yeah. Scary sh*t. At least I have spicy peppers to make my stomach feel reaaaaaal good. Ah crap.

What you need:
For the peppers:

• 4 green peppers (or other colors--they are just the cheapest)
• 2lbs ground beef
• 1/3 head of cauliflower
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• 1/2-2/3 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

For the rice:

• 2/3 head cauliflower
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• 1/3 cup salsa, your choice (no sugar please and thank you)
• 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

What you do:
To make your peppers:

1. Pull out your always amazing food processor AND crock pot. My first loves.
2. Cut the stem off your cauliflower and add roughly 1/3 of it to the food process. I used the shredding attachment but the blade will work just as well.
3. Next add your roughly chopped onion to the food process along with the garlic clove and jalapeno.
4. Once the mixture is processed down, add it to a large bowl and add your ground beef, tomato paste, and spices. Mix well to combine.
5. Now cut the tops off your peppers, pull out the cuts, and stuff the meat mixture into them.
6. Place them in a crockpot and pour your beef stock in the bottom. You will have extra meat leftover most likely so just stuff that in the crevices around the peppers.

To make your sticky rice:

1. You will need your food processor once again for this one, and a large saute pan.
2. Add your leftover cauliflower to your food processor then onion, garlic, and jalapeno to shred down.
3. Once the mixture is all shreddy-shreddy, add it to a saute pan that has heated up under medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of fat in it.
4. Now add your tomato paste, salsa, beef broth, and spices and combine well.
5. Once it is mixed thoroughly, turn your burner down low and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it does not stick to the bottom.
6. Put in a cute Tupperware container so it's ready to go in the morning OR cook this up right before you serve your peppers, depending on when you cook them.

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Grocery List Helper:

• All Natural Ground Beef: on sale at King Soopers
• Cauliflower: at Sunflower Market
• Green Peppers: $1/pepper at Sunflower Market
• Onions: on sale at Sunflower Market
• Tomato paste: King Soopers