KETO STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. For the filling, pre-heat a large non-stick pan just over medium heat along with 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the onions, zucchini, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, garlic, walnuts, and a few cracks of pepper, mix well. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Meanwhile, cut the tops of the bell peppers off and use your hands to carefully rip out the seeds and membranes, you can watch the video to see how it’s done.

Add the tomato paste, smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne to the onion mixture and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add (one can tomato paste + 1 can tomato sauce) to the pan and cook for 1 minute, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the mixture looks wet. Set aside.

Place the ground beef and pork in a large bowl, season with 1 teaspoon of salt, a few cracks of pepper, and add the egg. Use your hands to mix everything very well, making sure the beef is thoroughly incorporated with the pork. Add the veggie mixture to the beef and use your hands, or a large spoon if the veggies are still hot, to mix everything very well. It’s ok that the veggies are hot because you will be cooking the peppers immediately, but if that is not the case, make sure the veggies cool before adding to the beef.

Add the 1 can tomato sauce to a baking dish along with ½ teaspoon of salt and few cracks of pepper, mix well and then add the bell peppers. Use a spoon to stuff the peppers to the top, making sure to pack the mixture down. Cover the baking dish with tin foil, place on a sheet tray, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil and bake another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the cheddar cheese and parmesan in a bowl and mix well. After the peppers have been cooking for 1 hour, top them with the cheese and bake another 25-30 minutes. If you have a thermometer, remove the peppers from the oven when the internal temperature is 155 F.

Allow the peppers to rest for 10-20 minutes before serving, plate them up with some reserved tomato sauce, enjoy!

The peppers will keep in the fridge for 5-6 days and get even better the second and third day. You can freeze the stuffed peppers for 3 months and either place frozen peppers in a 350 F oven until hot, or thaw them and warm in the oven.