Love, Hate & Laziness: Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole (Gluten-free)

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You either love them or you hate them. If you love green peppers, you will love this Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole. But if you don’t, you likely aren’t reading this post anyway. However,  if it’s your kid(s) that hate them, there is hope. 

Most kids don’t inherently like green peppers because they are kind of bitter and really are an acquired taste. Getting kids to like or even accept particular foods takes a lot of effort; long, hard years of making them “try” things they instinctively recoil at (like onions).  According to the National Centre for Infants, Toddlers and families, children may need to be offered a new food up to as many as 10-15 times before they will eat it. That’s a lot of time investment.

Laziness Prevails!

It took me 7 long years to get my kids to even consider eating onions, but it was worth every minute because I no longer have to listen to the whining and complaining when I cook with them. My strategy was simple – put onions in everything and make the kids pick them out. Laziness will eventually prevail; that is human nature.

I really dislike those little baby corns that come in salads, but I’ll often just eat them anyway because I am lazy and it’s easier than picking them out. And if  laziness doesn’t prevail, then you know you have a die-hard hater on your hands and at least you can respect that. After all those years of offering green peppers, my daughter now loves them. My son doesn’t feel the green pepper love yet, but at least he will grudgingly eat them. He’s too lazy to pick them out.

Melted cheese helps!

Melted cheese helps. But then, doesn’t melted cheese help everything? Melted cheese is like the chocolate of the savoury world- it makes everything better. I use low-fat melted cheese in this casserole, which reduces the fat and calories and makes no difference in taste. And that is only one of this healthy stuffed pepper casserole’s many redeeming qualities! Just the fact that it’s a casserole is yet another. I used to spend an inordinate amount of time individually stuffing green peppers when I could have been chopping them up and throwing them in a casserole – what was I thinking?! This “Unstuffed” Green Pepper Casserole is also made with instant rice, which makes it so much faster to prepare.

So, if you are in the market for a delicious and healthy casserole that can be made ahead and frozen for a quick weeknight meal, then you should try this Stuffed Pepper Casserole. It’s so good that it can even turn a hardcore hater into a green pepper fan!

Do you love my cheerful orange casserole dish in the photos?

It’s actually a DUTCH OVEN. In fact, it’s my very first dutch oven! Now I’m wondering where it’s been all my life only wishing I had bought one years ago. I used it to make this recipe. I love that dutch ovens brown food on the sides when you are cooking on the stove top and then go straight to the oven. They are made of cast iron, then coated, so they also retain heat really well. They are heavy and last forever. BUT if you buy a color coated one (and why wouldn’t you?!) just make sure you are very careful with it – the color can chip off pretty easily. You can learn more about the joys of dutch ovens HERE!

If you are looking for a dutch oven, the Lodge brand is good quality and reasonably priced:

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Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole

This simple and delicious healthy and gluten-free Stuffed green pepper casserole, made with instant rice and lean ground beef is smothered in gooey melted cheese (low-fat), is easy to make and requires no stuffing! It can be made ahead and frozen for a quick weeknight meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine North American

Keyword green pepper casserole, stuffed peppers

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 226 kcal

Author Adapted from:"Five Minutes for Mommy's" Cheesy Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole (which I found at Mostly Homemade Mom)

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked instant brown rice * I use Minute Rice
• 1 -lb extra lean ground beef
• 3-4 large green peppers , diced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 -29 oz can diced tomatoes , drained
• 1 -14 oz can corn , drained
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 -10 oz can mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 cups low-fat shredded cheddar sharp cheese *

Instructions

1. Brown ground beef and onion in a large stock pot or dutch oven, then drain. You could also use a frying pan.

2. Boil chopped green peppers in water until soft (10-15 minutes). Drain. You could also cook them for about 5 minutes in the microwave. Cook rice in separate pot. * I use brown minute rice to make it quicker

3. Mix cooked rice, green pepper, ground beef and remaining ingredients (except cheese) together in stock pot, dutch oven or oven safe casserole dish.

4.  Top with shredded cheese.Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

5. Then turn it up to 500 degrees F and broil for 1-2 minutes until cheese is lightly brown and bubbly. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

 

 

Nutrition Facts

Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole

Amount Per Serving

Calories 226 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4g 6%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Cholesterol 32mg 11%

Sodium 388mg 16%

Potassium 383mg 11%

Total Carbohydrates 27g 9%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 6g

Protein 17g 34%

Vitamin A 6%

Vitamin C 36.7%

Calcium 11.5%

Iron 10%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

 

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This recipe is part of the Country Cook’s Weekend Potluck!