Loaded "Nachos:" Gluten and Soy Free

When Brian and I first started dating, he took me to a Mexican restaurant that I had never been to. I knew then he was a keeper. ;) The food was delicious, so fresh, and became my new favorite restaurant. Okay, okay...I knew Brian was "the one" for many more important reasons than that, but the fact that he loved Mexican food as much as I did thrilled me to no end. It's funny to admit that was one of the small/insignificant things that I had secretly hoped for in my future husband. I would joke around when I was a kid and say that I would have a queso fountain at my wedding, rather than a "romantic" chocolate fountain. Don't worry: when the time came to say "I do," we didn't have any food fountains at our wedding. I didn't want our chic barn wedding to look like we belonged in the barn. 

Brian and I have been married for nine months now (that's so crazy!), and I cook Mexican food for us at least once a week. It's delicious, easy and quick to prepare, and can be made healthier than the food we order at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Yesterday, I decided to modify a nacho recipe I found on Pinterest so that it would follow my diet restrictions: no gluten or soy. So, here it is!

Loaded "Nachos" 

Ingredients

Two large bell peppers (the larger, the better)
1/4 lb ground beef
1/4 pack of taco seasoning (Publix brand is soy and gluten free)
3/4 cup Mexican rice with corn (Vigo brand is soy and gluten free)
1/2 cup black beans 
1/2 can mild Ro-tel 
1/4 cup chopped onion 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheddar cheese  
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper 
Sour cream (optional topping) 
Fresh cilantro (optional topping)

Note: this recipe serves two people. 

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a medium sized frying pan, sauté the chopped onion in olive oil on medium heat until the onion is translucent. 

While the onions are sautéing, cook the rice according to the package instructions. The brand of rice pictured below tastes like authentic Mexican rice, and as a bonus, it's soy free! It's rare to find soy free rice at the grocery store. Once cooked, set aside. 

Pour water into a baking dish (just enough to cover the bottom of the dish). Slice bell peppers vertically along the natural pepper "lines" to create small bowls. Line the peppers skin down in a baking dish. 

When the oven is heated, cover the pepper dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes. This allows the peppers to steam and soften. 

While the peppers are steaming in the oven, add ground beef to the pan with the sautéed onions and cook on medium heat until well done. Next, mix the taco seasoning and cayenne pepper in with the beef. If using canned black beans drain the water, measure 1/4 cup of beans, and add to the ground beef pan. Measure 3/4 cup of the cooked Mexican rice and add to the ground beef pan. Drain water from the Ro-tel can. Add 1/2 of the can to the ground beef pan. Mix all of the ingredients together to form the loaded part of the nachos. 

Once the peppers are steamed, take them out of the baking dish and briefly set aside. Carefully pour any remaining water out of the dish. Place peppers back in the baking dish skin down. 

Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. Spoon the nacho mixture into each bell pepper bowl. Top each pepper bowl with shredded cheese. 

Place the peppers back in the oven for an additional five minutes to melt the cheese.

Optional: top with fresh cilantro and sour cream. 

Dig in!