When I was in college, I used to live and work out at my horseback riding trainer's ranch during my summer breaks. I was in love with ranch life. We got up before the crack of dawn to a big country breakfast, rode a million horses, and then came in at night, hot and tired, to dinner and a cold glass of wine. My trainer's husband was the cowboy of all cowboys, and, incidentally, he was the one who did all of the cooking.
I remember waking up on one particular morning to a breakfast of fried spam and eggs. "No," I said. Then, quickly, "I mean, that looks great, but I think I'll stick to coffee this morning." Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all fried spam out there. Most of the food he made was amazing, from fresh fried catfish (which he caught that same day, of course) to brisket smoked overnight. My favorite thing about his cooking, however, was that he used ground bison instead of ground beef. Bison is leaner than beef, but tastier than turkey. We used bison for hamburgers, spaghetti, tacos...everything. So the other night, when I was picking out some peppers to stuff for dinner, I decided to try them with bison instead of beef. The peppers turned out to be a well-seasoned, lean-protein-packed, quick, and easy dinner. I will definitely be making these more often on busy weeknights.
Makes 4 large stuffed peppers:
4 large green or red bell peppers
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground bison
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup wild or brown rice, cooked according to directions on the package
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
salt and pepper, to taste
Cook the rice according to the directions on the package, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the ground bison, onion, garlic, and salt and pepper until browned, about 7-9 minutes. Add the taco seasoning and water, and continue to simmer over medium-low heat, as dictated by the taco seasoning package. Remove the bison mixture from the heat, and stir in the rice.
Cut the tops off of the peppers, and remove the seeds inside. Place the peppers in an oven-safe pan, and fill them with the bison mixture. Sprinkle queso fresco on top of each pepper, and bake for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the peppers are heated through.
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