Stuffed Bell Peppers

  • The Zone regards oatmeal as a favorable carb, so I replaced some of the rice in the original recipe with oatmeal and no one noticed the difference. You could probably use all oatmeal if you want, but I don't know how well it would work without either rice or oatmeal to absorb some of the juices.

    This isn't quick, but you can make a bunch and freeze them before cooking.

    6 large bell peppers
    1 lb. extra lean ground beef
    1/2 c. chopped onion
    14 1/2 oz. can tomatoes, either whole peeled or chopped
    1/4 c. long grain white rice (preferably Bismati; has lowest glycemic index)
    1/4 c. oatmeal (uncooked, the 5 minute kind)
    1/2 c. water
    1 tsp. Worchestershire
    2 oz. cheddar cheese made with 2% milk
    salt and pepper

    Cut tops from the bell peppers; discard seeds and membranes. Chop enough of the remaining tops to make 1/4 c. or so.

    In a large saucepan of boiling water, immerse whole peppers in water for 5 minutes. (Probably will need to do in batches, fetching peppers with tongs.) Drain well. Sprinkle insides of peppers with salt (optional).

    Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain excess fat. Add onion and chopped peppers; cook until onions and peppers are tender. Add undrained tomatoes, uncooked rice, uncooked oatmeal, water, Worchestershire, salt (1/2-1 tsp, to taste), and dash of pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15-18 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in cheese. (You may reserve all or part of cheese for the tops, if you wish.)

    Arrange the whole peppers in a baking dish. Stuff peppers with meat mixture.

    Bake, covered, at 35 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If you have topped them with cheese, you may wish to uncover them the last 5 minutes so cheese will brown.

    Per pepper: 28 g. protein, 14 g. carb, 10 g. fat

    Using all oatmeal decreases carbs to 10 g.