Pumpkin Stuffed Peppers

If you are looking for a healthy halloween dinner treat to balance all that sugar consumption, you will love this recipe that will fill the smells of your kitchen with it’s spicy and spooky aromas.

Now that I have a home to call my own, I’ve started to get more and more into the spirit of Halloween. From the creepy decorations and ghouly treats to watching each and every scary movie possible in the month of October leading up to October 31st. The tantalizing sugary snacks whisper my name in the wind and my inner child howls with excitement all month long. But, as much I love candy and those ghastly mouthwatering treats like any other count sug-ula, I also like to challenge myself in the healthy realm of fruits and veggies. I think when you get creative with nutritious food,  in some odd way, it makes the dish taste better.

Grab your knife, your crockpot and your enchanted spoon, and when you’re done with this recipe the goblins, witches, and ghosts will swoon.

Oven Diced Lime Chicken
4-5 Chicken Breasts
1 cup of cilantro
2 cloves of garlic
3 Limes for lime juice
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 TBS. Butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and dice the chicken breast into cubes.
2. Mix cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic together and pour over the chicken in a large bowl and let marinate for 30 minutes (or up to 6 hours) covered in the fridge
3. Grease a baking pan with a lip with butter and pour cubed/marinated chicken and spread it out over the sheet
4. Bake for 20 minutes, then mix up diced chicken in juices in marinade  that have formed in the pan and cook for another 8 minutes

Stuffed Peppers
4 bell peppers (your choice of color, I used orange in light of halloween)
1/2 jalapeno pepper
2 cups of cooked rice
1 can (32 oz.) pureed tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
Cilantro (for garnish, optional)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, rinse peppers, slice off the tops and hollow out the insides, be sure to remove any seeds and the white part inside. If desired, use a small paring knife to cut out a jack-o-lantern face. When water is boiling, put the peppers and tops in and allow to cook for about 5 minutes until peppers are tender
2. Remove from water and set aside to cool
3. Mix the cooked rice, tomato sauce, diced chicken, cheddar cheese, jalapeno pepper, and black beans together in a large pan for about 10 minutes to let the the flavors simmer together
4. Fill each pepper with the chicken and rice mixture and top with extra cheese, if desired.
5. Replace pepper top back on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and pepper is done to desired tenderness. (Alternately, once peppers are stuffed, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate, when ready to cook, preheat oven to 350, remove plastic wrap and bake for 1 hour)

Bon-a-petit my little pumpkins!