Quickie Stuffed Bell Peppers & Orzo Salad

Just celebrated my big 3-0! Happy birthday to me!! I LOVE birthdays, mine, as well as everyone else's...there's happiness, there's celebrating, there's cake, and there's that special feeling you get on a day that is specially just for you.

My family and friends went above and beyond to make me feel lucky and blessed...there's nothing like being loved by so many good hearted people.  I'm in a very happy place right now!

Whenever there's a birthday, there is a lot of eating, so I really wanted to make a home cooked meal today.  I am still tired from my crazy awesome weekend, so wanted to put together something fairly quick and healthy.  Hubby and I need to get our festival bods ready for Cali!

Stuffed bell peppers are generally quick boiled and stuffed with a raw mixture of meat and some rice and take some time to cook.

Mine still took a bit of time, but were a little quicker since I halved the bell peppers, did not use rice, and browned the meat before stuffing.

The peppers were served with a side of orzo salad to create a well-balanced healthy meal.  Healthy can ALWAYS be delicious!

Stuffed Bell Peppers:

olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 tbs minced garlic
sea salt
black pepper
cumin
red chili powder
1 tbs garlic chili sauce (Sambal is the brand I use)
1/2 small can corn
handful of cilantro, chopped
3 bell peppers (whatever color is your fancy...I used one green, one yellow, and one red)
shredded cheese (whatever you like)
1 14 oz can of tomato sauce
worcestershire sauce
hot sauce
sea salt
pepper
garlic powder


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  De-seed the peppers and place in a lightly greased casserole dish.

Heat 1 tbs olive oil over medium heat.  Add diced onion and minced garlic.  Cook until onions are transclucent and begin to brown around edges.  Add the ground beef and season with salt, pepper, cumin, red chili powder, and garlic chili sauce.  Brown the beef and then add the corn and cilantro, heat through.

As the meat is cooking, combine tomato sauce with a few dashes of worcestershire and hot sauce, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a separate bowl.

Stuff each bell pepper with the meat mixture, sprinkle just a bit of cheese on each pepper.  Pour tomato mixture over the peppers.  Pop the stuffed peppers in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.

Take the peppers out and top with a sprinkling of cheese and pop under the broiler on high heat until the cheese is melty (I overcooked mine, so mine was browned, but still so good).  Keep an eye on them!  The broiler works fast...

Orzo Salad:

1 cup cooked orzo
1 small avocado
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 small can corn
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt
pepper
red chili flakes
garlic powder

Combine orzo, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and corn.  Drizzle with olive and a few dashes of the red wine vingar.  Season with salt, pepper, red chili flakes, and garlic powder.  Place in fridge to cool.