Where I live, good peppers are harder to come by than eye of newt! They’re never in good shape and always overpriced, so I’ve started taking advantage of the fact that no one around here knows what to do with poblano peppers. They’re always in the bulk section of stores, and always completely ignored. They’ve fast become one of my favorites, and are replacing bell peppers in most of my recipes- like these stuffed peppers!

Stuffed peppers are awesome. Actually, I’m really a fan of stuffing tasty things into other things under most circumstances, but peppers are a particular favorite. They’re a good size for serving, and they’re a good show-off dish. Until recently, I’ve found them to be too much hassle to make regularly, much less on a weeknight! I had to find a faster spell, and went to work making the perfect speedy solution!

The poblano peppers add a nice undertone of spice to this recipe (though, could easily be replaced with bell peppers if they’re more your speed!) and the addition of sweet potato in place of the traditional grain shaves 40 minutes off this recipe! No more making grain then cooking filling in a skillet, THEN finally getting to cook it all- just microwave the potatoes, mash, stir everything together and bake on top of a sauce that requires minimal thought or prep! They’re super filling, flavorful, and don’t require too many steps between starting cooking and eating!

Stuffed Peppers (+4 mana, +5 health, +4 stamina)

Ingredients

• 4 pablano peppers
• 1 sweet potato
• 2 cans black beans
• ½ cup frozen corn
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup salsa
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes and chilies
• 2 Tablespoons blended chipotle and adobo
• ¼ red onion, chopped
• ½ cup cilantro, divided
• 2 cloves garlic

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Using microwave steamer (or poke holes and cook whole in the microwave, or boil- your preference!), cook sweet potatoes until soft enough to mash. I dice my potatoes small and cook them in the steamer to keep the bits of skin small, but you could peel them if you’d like!
3. Mash sweet potatoes in a bowl, leaving a little chunky- if it needs more moisture, add a few tablespoons of broth or salsa, or a teaspoon of Earth Balance. Stir in black beans, corn, nutritional yeast, salsa, and seasonings.
4. Blend the tomatoes and chilis, onion, half of the cilantro, chipotle and adobo, and garlic until smooth, pour into the bottom of a large baking dish
5. Cut peppers in half, remove seeds, and stuff with filling, arrange open side up in baking dish
6. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes, uncover, bake for 5-7 minutes until topping has browned a little.

Serve hot garnished with remaining cilantro and favorite toppings (avocado, tomato, green onion)