Super Veggie-Stuffed Peppers

I love trying new, healthy recipes. It took some coaxing for my Mom to finally give in and try anything that I cooked using soy, but now, she doesn't mind it at all. These peppers are delicious, and the soy crumbles really are a great replacement for the ground beef. And did I mention, it's healthy? Someday, I'm going to sneak some soy crumbles into a dish for my Grandpa or Dad. If they can't detect that 'something different', no one will. I'll be sure and keep you posted on how that goes. :-)

Here's what you'll need for one serving:

1 large red bell pepper

1 plum tomato (preferably Roma), deseeded and chopped

1/2 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles, thawed
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup canned tomato sauce

2 tablespoons shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon dry taco seasoning mix

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a medium pan to medium-high heat on the stove. Add mushrooms, onion and green bell pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are slightly softened. Add garlic to the pan and cook for 1 additional minute.

Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. To the bowl, add tomato, soy crumbles, tomato sauce, cheese and taco seasoning mix. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Slice off the top of the red pepper, and then slice it in half lengthwise. Remove seeds.  Spray a medium baking dish lightly with nonstick spray. Place pepper halves in the dish, cut side up, and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Remove pepper halves from the oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees.  Once pepper halves are cool enough to handle, use paper towels to soak up any excess moisture. Evenly spoon veggie mixture into pepper halves. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly then dig in!

Recipe adapted from Hungry Girl 200 Under 200.