Enchilada Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed bell peppers take me right back to my childhood as the dish was a frequent staple at my family dinner table. Combining the classic version with a Mexican twist is making this old favorite a new go to winter meal. 

Onions and bits of bell pepper get sauteed with garlic and olive oil.

Cleaned and hollowed bell peppers ready for their filling.

Cooked chicken makes this recipe super quick and easy. You could use rotisserie chicken, or any leftover cooked chicken you may have. On this particular night, I boiled mine.

When the peppers are done baking and the cheese is nice and gooey, top with a heaping scoop of guacamole and sour cream and everything is right in the world.

Enchilada Stuffed Peppers

4 Green Bell Peppers, tops & seeds removed (save the tops to cut up for the filling, avoiding the stem)
1 C quinoa, cooked (you could also use rice if you prefer)
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded(I like to boil mine in broth with 1/2 an onion, cilantro and a garlic clove for about 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 C Mexican cheese
1/2 a red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cilantro, roughly chopped
2 T cornmeal
4 C enchilada sauce (store bought or homemade, I adapted a recipe from Martha Stewart)

Heat oven to 350.
Place prepared peppers in a deep casserole dish. *For this meal, I did not boil the peppers prior to stuffing them. This yielded a slightly crisper result after baking. If you prefer super soft, tear apart peppers, boil or steam them for about 5-10 min or until they are a bit softer before continuing with the recipe.*
In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, quinoa, beans, cilantro, about 1/2 C of cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions, the leftover bits of bell pepper reserved from the removed tops and the garlic. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and browned. Add the veggies to the chicken mixture.
Mix in the cornmeal and 1 Cup of enchilada sauce.
Scoop the mixture evenly into each pepper, top with the remainder of the enchilada sauce, allowing it to pour over into the casserole dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over each pepper.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, then turn the broiler on and broil the cheese until it is nice and bubbly, about 2-3 minutes.
Serve with guacamole, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

If you like this recipe, check out my other delicious version of stuffed peppers.