Comforting Stuffed Peppers (with kale! vegan, gluten free, etc.)

Gluten-Free, Vegan, Nut-Free, Oil-Free

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup dry, uncooked brown rice
• 2 1/4 cups water (to cook the brown rice in)
• 2 red onions, diced
• 1 cup radishes, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup red cabbage, diced/shredded
• 1 bag or large bunch kale, torn into small pieces
• 1 cup mushrooms, diced
• any other veggies you want! I used half a zucchini left in the fridge so I chopped that up and threw it in.
• 1 15 oz. can aduki beans (or other beans, aduki and very nourishing though!)
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 6 (or 4) large green or red peppers 
• 1 18 oz. jar Traditional Marinara Sauce (from Trader Joe's, make sure you get a brand without ANY added sugar, corn syrup, or weird additives)

Seasonings

• sea salt, to taste, 
• Trader Joe's everyday seasoning, to taste (I used abt. 2 tbs. total)
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. coconut aminos (similar to soy sauce but way better)
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. oregano 
• dash of paprika
• dash of pepper
• spritz of fresh lemon juice

1. Cook the brown rice according to the bag directions. The directions for mine was boil 1 cup of the rice in 2.5 cups of water, then lower the temp. and simmer covered for about 35 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Season with sea salt or anything else according to taste. 

2. While the rice is cooking chop up all the veggies and start sautéing the onions, radishes and garlic. Add in the kale, red cabbage, mushrooms (basically any veggies you want) and sauté until tender. 

3. Cut off the tops of the peppers and dice the pepper pieces. Add to the veggie mixture, along with the canned diced tomatoes, beans, and the seasonings (listed above). Cook on low until the brown rice is done and the veggies are tender. 

4. Arrange the pepper halves in a baking dish, then fill the bottom with the veggies, add a layer of brown rice, then more veggies and top off with the marinara sauce. Some people stir the rice into the veggies and you can definitely do that, I just like the layered effect better. For the extra veggie mixture / rice, spoon it into the dish around the stuffed peppers, and top the rest of the dish with the marinara sauce. 

5. Bake at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. You can bake them more or less, and it really depends on how cooked / soft you want the peppers to be. 

This dish is very comforting and filling, and even my meat and tasty-cake eating family liked it! I adapted this recipe from the one here, and just made it healthier by adding more veggies and took out the cheese and such. This recipe taste so warm, comforting and savory you won't ever miss the old version! :)