A fantastic complement to any celebration! With a little additional cheese, the filling from my favorite stuffed pepper recipe produces a deliciously scoopable dip.
I’m a sucker for chunky-style dips. The only genuine exception is queso, which I will eat if it is smooth and creamy. Queso, please.
Salsa? It must have beans, corn, and tomato pieces.
Guacamole? The item had best be loaded with garlic and onion.
Artichoke with spinach? Please, all of the artichokes.
Today’s recipe for Stuffed Pepper Dip is a dream come true for me since there’s nothing creamy about it; it’s all bits, all the time. And it’s something I’ve been doing unconsciously for at least the past 15 years.
I published a lightened-up version of my favorite stuffed pepper recipe a few years ago, and I recall making precisely as much as I needed to stuff the peppers because I wanted to get the proportions correct for the recipe. There is no less or more.
And guess what? That made me feel sad. Because I always make too much filling when I make stuffed peppers. Far too much. In fact, I almost tripled the recipe. I pack the peppers with as much filling as I can and store the remainder in the refrigerator.
The stuffed pepper filling reheats easily and thoroughly. It tastes just as fantastic the second time around as it did the first. As a result, I’ve always reheated it in parts and turned it into nachos.
I’d put a layer of chips on a baking sheet, add some stuffed pepper filling on top (and maybe another layer of each depending on how hungry I am), then top it with mozzarella cheese. I’d bake it for about 10-15 minutes and voilà! I’d order a heaping platter of nachos.
So it occured to me yesterday that why couldn’t I simply put the cheese in the filling and dip chips in that instead? I was so thrilled about the concept that I ran to the shop after work to get all of the supplies and started working on it as soon as I woke up this morning.
Yeah, everything came together in less than 24 hours. Indeed, I’m smitten.
It’s ideal. Exactly right. And it’s really simple to personalize to your preferences. Instead of turkey, use ground beef. Add additional cheese or leave it out entirely since it’s still unbelievably wonderful without it. Or quadruple the quantity of corn if you’re from the Midwest and have a fully healthy passion with corn.
I cannot emphasize how wonderful this would be for your Super Bowl party tomorrow. This isn’t some little nibble that will leave your visitors wanting something more substantial. This filling is satisfying. But be warned: you’ll need a study chip to hold the weight of this monster. The weight of its greatness will cause cheap store brand tortilla rounds to collapse.
So do yourself a favor and stock up on the good things. Or just take a large serving spoon and dig in; I will not judge you. Your buddies may think so, but who cares? I’ll be over here cheering you on, and really, that’s all that counts.
Stuffed Pepper Dip
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Description
Ingredients
- 1box Rice-A-Roni® Spanish Rice, or 1/2 cup of any kind of rice, prepared accordingly
- 1cupdiced tomatoes, I use cherry and Sunburst tomatoes
- 1tablespoonextra-virgin olive oil
- ½cuponion, diced
- ½tablespoongarlic, minced
- 1poundground turkey
- 2cupsdiced peppers, assorted colors (approximately 1 1/2 peppers)
- 1can black beans, 15.25 oz
- 1can corn, 15.25 oz
- 1can green chiles, 4oz
- 2cupsreduced-fat Mozzarella, shredded
- 1teaspooncrushed red pepper
- ½teaspoonground cumin
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Sturdy tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
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Prepare rice according to package directions in large saucepan, adding diced tomatoes to the mix. Set aside.1 box Rice-A-Roni® Spanish Rice, 1 cup diced tomatoes
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In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup onion, 1/2 tablespoon garlic
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Add ground turkey and heat until no longer pink and slightly browned. Make sure the turkey is in the smallest pieces possible – you want to be able to scoop it with a chip!1 pound ground turkey
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In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, prepared rice mix, diced peppers, black beans, corn, and green chiles. Stir to combine.2 cups diced peppers, 1 can black beans, 1 can corn, 1 can green chiles
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Add cheese, crushed red pepper, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine. If your cheese isn’t melting as much as you’d like, just throw the mix back in a large saucepan and heat until the cheese is melted and thoroughly combined.2 cups reduced-fat Mozzarella, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, Salt and pepper
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Store covered in the fridge for up to a week.Sturdy tortilla chips
Notes
- This makes about 8 cups, but I don’t know how many servings that amounts to. Maybe for you that’s two servings. I’m not about to tell you how to live your life.
- To reheat, bake for 10 minutes at 350° F or pop it in the microwave for a few minutes.