Submitted by Jennifer Elhawary, Research Data Analyst, Lung Biology Center, UCSF Health
My Story
Growing up in Southern California, my family always had access to the best Mexican and Spanish Cuisine. So, it’s no surprise that taco nights at home were one of our favorites. We would always have a big spread of warm tortillas, perfectly spiced ground beef, lettuce, tomato, avocados, and sour cream for us to construct the biggest and best tacos.
My sister recently moved to Baltimore, MD for graduate school just before the explosion of COVID-19. The isolation of quarantining without her family was difficult at first but this dish served as a great reminder of home for her. She substituted bell peppers for tortillas in my mom’s recipe to make it low carb and keto-friendly. This delicious low carb alternative to tacos has been a new favorite of hers and she hope you enjoy it as much as we all have.
Total Preparation Time: 25 min
Total Cooking Time: 20 min
Ingredients
1 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil
½ c. Onion, chopped
1-2 Garlic clove, minced
1 lb. Ground beef
1 tsp. Chili powder
½ tsp. Ground cumin
½ tsp. Smoked paprika
1 c. Shredded Cheddar cheese
1 c. Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
½ c. Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 c. Shredded romaine lettuce
3 Multi-colored bell peppers, halved and seeds removed
To taste Salt and Pepper
As garnish Sour Cream
As garnish Your favorite guacamole or sliced avocado
Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9X9-inch baking dish
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1tbsp. of olive oil
Add chopped onion and cook until slightly translucent
Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant
Add ground beef and cook stirring regularly until no longer pink. Drain excess fat from the pan.
Mix in chili powder, paprika, and cumin. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste. Set aside.
To the bell peppers, drizzle with olive oil and season with Salt and Pepper to taste.
Place each bell pepper, cut side up in the baking dish and spoon meat mixture into each pepper.
In a small bowl mix together the Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.
Top bell peppers with cheese mixture and bake uncovered until cheese is melted and peppers are tender ~20 min.
Remove peppers from oven and top with chopped lettuce, tomato, guacamole/avocado and sour cream.
Serve Immediately.
Tips/Pointers
To spice it up, drizzle Tabasco sauce to taste on each pepper as a final flavor garnish.
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