Happy Cinco De Mayo- Stuffed Peppers

• The first thing you need to do is PREHEAT your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  After you do that, you are going to take FOUR medium red, yellow, green, or orange bell peppers, cut in half, with seeds removed, and place them, skin side down, in a large baking dish.  Go ahead and set that dish aside.

• Next, heat 2 tsp. of olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 medium, chopped onion and cook.  Stir frequently for 4 to 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.  Add 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic and cook that while stirring frequently for 1 minute.  And then add your 1 1/2 pounds of raw chicken breast (boneless, skinless, chipped into 3/4 inch pieces), 1 tsp. ground chili powder, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. Himalayan sea salt, and 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper.  Cook this for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the chicken is no longer pink.

• Time for the fun and fiesta to begin!  Next, you are going to add 1 cup of spaghetti sauce.  Personally, I use Grandma’s Tomato Sauce recipe from the FIXATE cookbook because my family can’t get enough of it, so I make it in huge pots and freeze it in various serving sizes.  If you don’t have the recipe for that sauce, Prego, Ragu, and Healthy Choice all have your run-of-the-mill healthier versions of sauces.  After your sauce is added, mix in 2 cups of cooked quinoa, 1 cup of canned black beans drained and rinsed, 1 cup of frozen corn kernels, 4 Tbsp. of chopped, fresh cilantro, and 1 Tbsp. of fresh lime juice.  Reduce your stove top heat to medium-low and cook while stirring occasionally.  You will continue to cook this for 3 to 5 minutes until it is completely heated through.

• Add a HEAPING 1/2 cup of chicken mixture to each pepper half.  Cover your dish lightly with aluminum foil.  Bake for 35 minutes or until the peppers are tender and remove the foil.

• Using 1 cup of shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, top each pepper evenly with the cheese.  Bake for another 3 minutes uncovered or until the cheese is melted.  Remove from the oven and garnish the top with an evenly distributed 1 Tbsp. of chopped, fresh cilantro and serve!

When you are finished, you have a robust and flavorful dinner that will serve 8 (1/2 pepper each).  If you are following the 21 Day Fix, your container equivalents are as follows:

• 1 green

• 1 yellow

• 1 red

• 1/2 blue

If you are tracking your macros, each serving includes:

• 322 calories

• 10 grams fat

• 4 grams saturated fat

• 68 mg cholesterol

• 479 mg sodium

• 29 grams carbs

• 6 grams fiber

• 6 grams sugar

• 27 grams protein

DINNER IS SERVED!