Unstuffed Pepper Bowls

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice of choice + cooking liquid

1 pound 85% lean ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 teaspoon each fine sea salt & fresh ground black pepper

2 green bell peppers, finely diced

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small zucchini, quartered and sliced

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (about 3/4 cup)

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, extra liquid drained

3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper to taste

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella or pepper jack cheese

Directions

Cook rice

Prepare your preferred rice (1 1/2 cups) according to package directions in water or broth (I generally make jasmine rice with chicken broth in my Instant Pot).

Cook the meat

Place a large deep non-stick skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add ground beef (1 pound), salt and pepper (~ 1 teaspoon each). Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Cook the meat for about 4-5 minutes or until just barely cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Add the veggies

While the meat continues to cook, add the peppers (2 green 1 red, finely diced) and onions (1/2 medium, finely diced) to the same pan and cook until beginning to soften, about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic (4 cloves minced) and zucchini (1 small, quartered and sliced), and cook for another 2 minutes.

Make it saucy

Finally, add the tomato sauce (1-8 ounce can), diced tomatoes (1-14.5 ounce can), worcestershire sauce (3 tablespoons), along with salt & pepper (~1/4 teaspoon each) to season. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3-4 minutes, letting it simmer and bubble, stirring occasionally. Add additional salt & pepper to taste.

Meal prep it

If serving immediately, add shredded cheese (3/4 cup) and cover for 90 seconds to melt. For meal prep, add about 1/2 cup or so cooked rice to each of four or five meal prep containers. Portion the unstuffed pepper mixture into each meal prep container and add a heavy sprinkle of cheese. Store for up to four days in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 meal prep bowl
• Calories: 645
• Total Fat: 22g
• Total Carbohydrate: 77g
• Dietary Fiber: 7g
• Total Sugars: 11g
• Protein: 32g