Heyyyy guys…
Question…
What are you guys dressing up as for Halloween? No really. Do y’all still dress up?
I used to get so stoked trying to figure out what I was going dress up as when my kids were little. I would wear it from the morning to night…and the kids on the street used to come to the door expecting to see me all decked out!!
But now I live in farm country and my driveway is too long for kids to venture down so I don’t get any trick-or-treaters…boo 🙁
Anyhoo, I still do like to make a spooky meal on Halloween even though my kids are gone and it’s just me and the hubster.
So this year, we are having a wee Halloween feast!!
We will start with hummus and pita (which I have loads of because I received a bunch of delicious new flavours from Summer Fresh – not sponsored…I just love it!!!). A quick swish with the back of a spoon and a cucumber stem and you have yourself a cute pumpkin plate (I gave this to the hubster and he didn’t even squeal like a child…which I totally would have expected him to do – but he didn’t :-/). But trust me…it’s so dang cute!!
And, if you have kids, you surely have cheese strings in your fridge! Make a few of these cute brooms (just cheese strings, pretzels and chives!!).
And if you’re burger people, this is super easy too…just a plain old burger with Dracula teeth (hello dollar store!!), olives and a roasted red pepper strip!!
And if you’ve ever made chicken pot pie (I have a great recipe in my cookbook), you can make it easier by using a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and topping it with a store bought crust cut like Jack Skellington! The kids will go nuts!!
And no Halloween snack tray is complete without a few Babybel cheeses made into cute ghouls!! Just some squiggly eyes and a good sharp paring knife!
If you need some other ideas for Halloween, you can check out this post or this post or even this post!!
But let’s talk about the main course!
These super healthy stuffed peppers are gluten free, dairy free and vegan but the flavour will have them coming back for more. The are filled with sautéed onions and mushrooms with a good dose of healthy greens and some black rice – which I love but you can totally sub in plain white, brown or basmati if you like!
Prep the peppers by coring them and cutting out cute faces!
Once they’re all filled and ready to bake, pop the lids back on and we are ready for the oven!!
Really though, aren’t they cute? You could totally add some tomato sauce, or diced cooked chicken or ground beef or even cheese…you do you!!!
Show me how scary you can make YOUR Halloween dinner!!!
Stuffed Halloween Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 cup black or basmati rice rinsed clean
- 2 vegetable broth or water
- 4-6 whole bell peppers (yellow/orange/red)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups spinach or other greens, cleaned
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a medium sized saucepan, place rice and broth together and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cover, reduce heat and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from heat and set covered pot aside until needed.
- Slice the tops off the bell peppers, remove and discard the seeds and membranes from the inside of each pepper (keep the top with stem intact) and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Drizzle oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Add onion and chopped mushrooms and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until they begin to tenderize. Add minced garlic, cumin, paprika, pepper, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until all the vegetables are cooked thoroughly.
- Stir in spinach and cook until heated through and the spinach is wilted. Add in cooked rice and check seasoning - adjust adding additional salt, pepper, or cumin to taste.
- Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley.
- Fill each pepper with the rice mixture and place into a baking dish (make sure the baking dish is the right size - you want the peppers to be semi-snug so they don’t tip over while baking).
- Add a little water to the bottom of the baking dish to steam the peppers while baking. Cover dish with aluminum foil and place onto the middle rack of the pre-heated oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until peppers are soft and filling is hot.
