Unstuffed Pepper Casserole
Taking a traditional stuffed pepper recipe, converting it into a casserole all while using a handy slow-cooker, making this a hands-off meal.
Equipment
- Slow-cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil (or avocado oil)
- 3 ea bell peppers, chopped I used a bag of mini peppers from Costco.
- 1 lb bison (or other minced/ground meat of choice)
- 1 ea onion, chopped
- 2 ea garlic cloves, minced
- 1 24 oz jar of Thrive Market marinara sauce I love their Basil flavor and keto option
- 2 bags Full Green Cauli Rice Review notes below for a link, or you can use 1 large frozen cauliflower rice.
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 6 oz organic tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Turn on your slow-cooker and set it to "high." Cover with the lid and begin prepping the vegetables.
- Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Set aside to reap the health benefits of the garlic before adding it to the heat.
- Rinse, then shop the bell peppers. Add olive oil to the bottom of the slow-cooker and begin to layer in the vegetables with the garlic and onion first, then peppers.
- add in the spices, including the salt and pepper, cauliflower and stir until everything is blended. Add in the bison.
- Top the ingredients with the marinara sauce and tomato paste (like a cherry ontop). Allow the dish to cook for 30 minutes to an hour before mixing everyhing together.
- After 30 minutes, mix all ingredients and turn the slow-cooker to low to cook for the remaining time (to add up to 6 hours in total).
Notes
We enjoyed this meal with a side of rice to add more carbohydrates to the vegetable and fiber-rich dish. When I cook rice, I cook it as instructed in the package, but I let it cool before eating, to lessen the blood sugar spike and to create resistant starch (a very gut-friendly fiber) in the rice.
As for garlic, when we prep garlic and chop or mince it, letting it sit for 10 minutes or more before adding it to heat, it enhances the cancer-fighting properties of this nutritious food.
Here is. a link to the cauliflower I always have readily available in my pantry: https://amzn.to/3oGfpWj. it's great for dishes like this and soups!
