Beef-and-barley-stuffed Bell Peppers

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 large bell peppers, any color, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/3 cup sliced green onion, including green part
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup cooked pearl barley
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 400°f.
• 2 pour the chicken broth into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set aside.
• 3 in a large skillet, cook the ground beef, green onions and garlic until beef is browned; drain fat if desired.
• 4 stir in barley, salsa, carrot and cumin; add salt and pepper to taste and mix well; add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and combine with other ingredients.
• 5 fill the pepper halves with the beef/barley mixture and place in the prepared baking dish.
• 6 cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for one hour; sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the peppers and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
• 7 serve with additional salsa and sour cream as topping.
• 8 *note: you can pre-boil the pepper halves for 3 to 5 minutes in salted water and reduce the baking time to 20-25 minutes in a 350f oven.