Slow Cooker Black Bean & Brown Rice Stuffed Peppers

Drescription

Few dishes smell better as they cook than these cheesy brown-rice-stuffed peppers simmering gently in a pool of cinnamon- and clove-spiced tomato sauce. If you want to try a different whole grain, swap out the rice for millet. The peppers are fragile after cooking, so use tongs to gently remove them from the slow cooker.

Ingredients

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans no-salt-added fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 (10-ounce) package cooked brown rice or 1 cup uncooked millet (see tip)
• 8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
• ¾ cup canned no-salt-added black beans, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeños
• 6 small green bell peppers (about 4 ounces each)

Directions

1. Add tomatoes and their juices to a blender with 1 1/2 cups water; puree until almost smooth. Pour 1 1/2 cups of the puree into a large bowl and set aside. Pour the remaining puree into a 6-quart slow cooker. Stir in tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt, cinnamon and cloves.
2. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, rice (or millet), cheese, beans and jalapeños to the tomato puree in the large bowl; stir to combine.
3. Using a small, sharp knife pointed straight down into the top, cut a lid into a bell pepper. Trim the mass of seeds on the underside of the lid (save the lid), and scrape seeds and large membranes out of the inside of the pepper (discard the seeds and membranes). Repeat with the remaining peppers and stand them upright in a large bowl or container. Evenly fill the peppers with the bean mixture. Arrange the peppers upright in the slow cooker; top with the pepper lids. Cover and cook on High for 6 hours. Serve in shallow bowls with the sauce.