making the most of leftovers: mexican stuffed peppers...

I love coming up with new recipes by shopping my pantry. We've been grilling a lot this summer, and my husband's specialty is grilled chicken. The other day, we had three pieces left in the fridge and I was tired of just heating it up and eating it with rice or salad. So after a little bit of exploring the fridge and pantry, I came up with Mexican stuffed peppers.

I cubed up the chicken and in a bowl combined it with parsley from my garden, grape tomatoes, jalapenos, banana peppers and lime juice. I then covered it and let it marinate in the fridge for a bit. Next I took two green peppers, cut them in half length-wise, cored them and put them in a greased baking dish. I filled the peppers with the mixture, topped it with some low-fat cheddar cheese, covered the whole dish with foil and baked it for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees. 

For a side, I made my most favorite Mexican dish ever. It's super complicated. Are you ready? Take a can of refried beans, spread it out in a baking dish, cover with cheese and bake until cheese starts to brown. Did you get all that? 

In all seriousness though, a couple years ago my mom made this and I haven't been the same since. I could eat it every day. Sometimes I add in jalapenos just to kick it up a notch. And I always top it with a dollop of sour cream. 

So there you have it. A simple and delicious dish I made at home without making a trip to the grocery store -- Mexican stuffed peppers. You can't beat that! Ole!