Pot Roast Stuffed Peppers
Waiting at school pick-up, I asked a friend what she was cooking for dinner that night. (I always love asking this question!) She told me she was making a lentil and bean casserole, which she then takes the leftovers and stuffs them into bell peppers for dinner the next night. She told me she loves it because it’s easy and she gets two meals out of it. I thought that was brilliant.
Fast forward several months, and I have a small amount of leftover beef pot roast and nothing else. I remembered my friend’s idea of stuffing her leftover lentil casserole into bell peppers and was determined to come up with my own stuffed pepper recipe utilizing my leftover pot roast as well as the broth left in the crock pot.
I went with lentils for this recipe because they are high in fiber and protein. I kept the filling simple. Other than the lentils, I only use garlic, leftover beef, canned diced tomatoes, and a few spices. Sometimes the more simple the more delicious. This recipe makes approximately 6 stuffed peppers. Be sure to pick out bell peppers at the store that will stand up & balance on their own! I hope this dish inspires you to use whatever you have leftover and stuff it into a bell pepper!
P.S. If you’ve never cooked a pot roast, It’s really easy. I do mine in the crock pot. I’ll put my pot roast recipe down at the bottom of this post.
Ingredients:
Approx. 300g leftover pot roast beef, chopped/shredded
1 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed
6 bell peppers, any color
2.5 - 3 cups broth (from leftover pot roast)
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp thyme
Lemon juice to taste, freshly squeezed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheese (any kind will work!)
1 - 2 avocados, for serving, sliced
Sour cream or Greek yogurt, for serving
Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Instructions:
Heat a medium/large saucepan. Add olive oil and sauté garlic until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
Add the rinsed & strained lentils. Stir to coat with the olive oil.
Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (covered with lid) until lentils are cooked, about 25-30 minutes.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the bell peppers by cutting off the tops and pulling out the seeds. Place peppers on a baking sheet (use parchment paper for an easier clean up!)
Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C)
Add canned tomatoes, beef, cumin, chili powder and thyme to the lentils. Simmer, uncovered, for another 5 minutes.
Taste the filling and adjust with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to your liking.
Stuff peppers using a slotted spoon to drain the liquid before putting it in the pepper.
Cook peppers in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove peppers from oven, top with cheese, then broil for 1-2 minutes to melt cheese.
Serve with sliced avocado and a dollop (or two) of sour cream or Greek yogurt. Garnish with cilantro.
Pot Roast Dinner
A pot roast is easy…only about 20 minutes of total “prep” in the morning. Throw it in the crock pot and dinner will be ready at the end of your day. Here are my three tips for an awesome pot roast: 1.) Generously salt the beef one to two days before cooking. This tenderizes and flavors the whole cut of meat. 2.) Make sure your broth is well seasoned with salt, and 3.) add enough broth so that the liquid comes up at least three quarters of the way up the sides of the meat. That’s it!
I like to serve this dish with an additional green veggie. Broccoli is a good choice (as pictured), but I also love this meal with kale and asparagus sautéed in butter with salt, pepper and lemon juice. The citrus in the lemon juice compliments the pot roast nicely.
Don’t forget to keep the leftover broth in the crockpot for the stuffed peppers!
Ingredients:
1 Large Chuck Eye Roast (mine was about 1.5 kg, or about 3 lbs)
3 cups bone broth
2 bay leaves
5 sprigs rosemary
4-8 small potatoes
4-6 carrots
Sea Salt/Pepper
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
Instructions:
Season all sides of the eye roast with salt 1-2 days before you plan on cooking your pot roast. Let it sit in the fridge in a large zip lock bag or wrapped in cling wrap.
In the morning, season beef with pepper and sear all sides of the beef in a cast iron pan with butter or olive oil. Let each side sear for 2-4 minutes until nicely browned.
Place the seared beef in the crock pot. Add in potatoes (skin on, quartered if on the larger side) and carrots (whole, or very large chunks), broth, bay leaves and rosemary sprigs. The broth should just about cover all of the meat. Add more if necessary.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours.