Beef + Pepper Rice Bowls with Cheese

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Dairy Free
Gluten Free

Why we love it:

Did your grandmother make long simmered, multilayered, rice and beef stuffed peppers? Those are good. This fun to assemble dish is inspired by that but deconstructed and fast enough for a busy Wednesday before soccer practice!

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Ingredients

1 cup Basmati Rice (White)
1¹⁄₄ cups Water
1¹⁄₄ teaspoons Kosher Salt (divided)
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (divided)
1 Yellow Onion (small)
2 cups Bell Pepper (Orange, Yellow or Red)
¹⁄₄ teaspoon Black Pepper (freshly ground)
1 pound Ground Beef
2 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
¹⁄₄ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)
1 15-ounce can Diced Tomatoes
4 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese (or pepper jack, shredded)
1 cup Cilantro (chopped)

Cooking Instructions

1. RICE

Place the rice, water and ½ teaspoon of salt in a small pot. Bring to a boil and stir well, then turn down to low and tightly cover. Simmer on low for 16 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit until serving time.
2. ONIONS + PEPPERS

Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 2 minutes, then add bell peppers, season with a pinch of salt and pepper (reserving some) and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.

Transfer pepper mixture to a plate.
3. BEEF

Heat remaining Tablespoon of olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add in beef and break up with a wooden spoon, season with the rest of the salt and pepper. Continue to cook and break up beef, about 2 minutes more, until almost fully cooked through, then add garlic, chili powder, cumin and cayenne.
4. TOMATOES

Cook beef through then stir in tomatoes and pepper mixture and warm through, about 1 minute
5. SERVING

Plate a scoop of rice, top with some of the cheese, and spoon the beef and pepper mixture over top. Garnish with more cheese and cilantro.

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Substitutions

DAIRY FREE:

omit cheese or use your favorite nut or soy cheese
PALEO:

use cauliflower rice instead of real rice, omit the tomatoes and use 1 cup of stock to simmer the meat
BEEF:

use ground chicken or turkey
CRUNCH:

if you have tortilla chips, strips or romaine/iceberg lettuce (chop it up) they all taste amazing for crunch
KIDS CORNER:

serving things “not touching” and with tortillas or chips is a good start here. Add steamed broccoli or green beans to get in a vegetable if needed