Mexican-Style Stuffed Mini Peppers

So, these peppers were the other appetizers that I made a few times over the holidays along with my collard green taco rolls. They take a bit longer than the taco rolls since the peppers need to be roasted and I used butternut squash in them which also takes time to cook; however, the end result is great.

Ingredients:

• 8-10 mini sweet peppers (destemmed and deseeded)
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup cooked butternut squash (and the seeds)

Rice filling:

• 1/2 cup cooked rice (short-grain works best)
• 1 stalk green onion
• 1/2 cup mushrooms (diced)
• pinch each of garlic powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, salt, and pepper OR fajita seasoning

Walnut taco filling:

• 2 cups raw walnuts
• 1 cup sundried tomatoes (with a bit of oil is fine)
• 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 green chilli pepper of your choice (deseeded)
• 1/2 small red pepper (deseeded and chopped)
• 2 tsp fresh lime juice
• loose handful of cilantro
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Roast the mini bell peppers and butternut squash and pumpkin seeds after coating with a bit of olive oil.
3. Prepare the walnut taco filling by throwing everything into a food processor until a wet crumbly mixture is formed.
4. Prepare the rice by sautéing the green onion and mushrooms. Once slightly cooked, add in the seasoning and rice. Mix together.
5. Once the peppers are roasted, fill them up halfway with the rice filling and the rest of the way with the taco filling.
6. Sprinkle the roasted squash seeds on top along with some cilantro.