Mexican Unstuffed Bell Peppers

This is easily made vegetarian or vegan by substituting Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles for the beef & using soy cheese. Feel free to edit the spices to your own taste. Sometimes a dash of red pepper is nice. ;) I made this up & Mom wants it on paper for her Cardiac Rehab Cookbook & Wilderness Advanced Life Support course menu. Her ya go, Mom!!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1  onion, diced
• 6  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  cup rice
• 4  bell peppers, I use a combo of green bell & poblano
• 1  lb  cooked ground beef
• 1 (28 ounce) can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2  tablespoons oregano
• 1  tablespoon salt
• 1  teaspoon ground cumin
•  ground black pepper
•  jalapeno pepper, minced, to taste (optional)
• 2  cups  shredded monterey jack cheese (or a combination) or 2  cups monterey jack pepper cheese (or a combination) or 2  cups cheddar cheese (or a combination)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Saute onion & garlic in oil over medium heat until softened.
3. Boil rice in salted water until just soft. Drain.
4. Halve peppers & remove seeds. Place in 9x13" baking dish, insides up.
5. In a large bowl, combine well the cooked ground beef (or defrosted soy crumbles), sauteed onions & garlic, cooked rice, rinsed & drained black beans, undrained can of diced tomatoes, oregano, salt, cumin, pepper & jalapenos, if using.
6. Pour 'filling' mixture over peppers, top with cheese & bake until hot & bubbly, about 30 minutes.
7. Enjoy!