Wow! Stuffed Peppers=Amazing!

Dinner tonight was, in one word, amazing. Andy stopped at the co-op on the way home tonight to get Smart Ground Original, a meat substitute. While I fully embrace the vegetarian lifestyle and philosophy, another alternative is to buy local and as-humanely-as-possible-reared-and-slaughtered meat. It's hard for me to put the words "humane" and "slaughtered" in the same sentence, but I realize that there are benefits to a non-veg, local carnivorous meal: supporting local farmers, less gas mileage for the product, and more local food, in general.So...my point is that this meal can be veg or non-veg...and both can be ethical in their own ways.

Here's the ingredients and instructions for this truly delectable dinner. Try it! It's so yummy!

Ingredients: (Spanish rice)
2 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 long grain rice
1 quart canned tomato halves with juice
vegetable broth (enough that when combined with tomato juice equals 3 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
Mexican seasoning (cumin, chili powder, achiote, anything that feels/tastes right)

Ingredients: (soy/beef crumbles)
1 LB soy crumbles or ground beef
1 small onion diced
1 Jalapeno pepper
Mexican seasoning (cumin, chili powder, achiote, anything that feels/tastes right)
water (3-4 TBS)

Cheese

To make rice:
Heat oil in a deep sauce pan. Add onion, garlic, pepper, and rice. Stir and cook until onions are translucent and rice is a little bit browned.  Add seasoning, tomatoes and all liquids.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  Once at a simmer, reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook approximately 30 minutes or until majority of liquid is absorbed.

To make soy/beef:
Heat oil in shallow sauce pan.  Add onion and pepper; cook until pepper is almost translucent.  Add soy/beef and cook until browned (soy: approx 3-5 minutes). Add seasoning and water.  Cook until water is absorbed.
Add soy/beef to the rice and mix until combined.

To make stuffed peppers:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut tops off of peppers and take seeds out.  Drizzle the inside of the peppers with olive oil and salt.  Stuff peppers with rice and soy mixture.  Arrange stuffed peppers in a shallow baking dish.  Cook in over for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove from oven and add cheese to the tops of all the peppers.  Return peppers to oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is browned or to your personal liking.

YUM! YUMMY! OUT OF THIS WORLD! SPLENDID! HOLY COW!