8. Jalapeño Beef & Pork Stuffed Peppers with Baked Egg – £0.99/$1.50
(51g protein, 9g carbs, 25g fat, 474 kcals)
What you’ll need: 200g ground beef & pork (mince), 2 eggs, 1 large bell pepper, ½ onion, 1 clove garlic, ¼ cup pickled jalapeno pepper slices, 2 teaspoons paprika powder, ½ teaspoon cumin powder, heaped teaspoon of dried mixed herbs, salt & pepper.
This fiery recipe is for those who requested low carb/keto options (trust me it’s pretty hard to not bulk up a meal with cheap carb sources on less than a dollar fifty!)
Obvious Keto choices are tuna/egg salad with dressing etc, however; 1. That’s no recipe! 2. Salads/cold foods get very boring after a while - especially when you fancy something hot for lunch.
1. Halve the bell pepper (length ways) & remove all seeds/inner membranes. Break the eggs into a cup & add half the jalapeño slices, stirring the mixture a couple of times to break the yolk (don't overdo it as you'll want a nice marbled finish when cooked). Pour the mixture in each pepper half.
2. Heat the oven to 180 degrees (c) /350 degrees (f) and place the pepper halves on a baking tray (even directly onto the shelf is fine). Bake until the egg is cooked through/peppers begin to soften. Once cooked, remove from the oven and keep to one side for your topping.
3. While the pepper halves are baking, chop the onion & garlic as fine as you can get them, then heat a small drop of oil in a large pan on medium heat and add just the ground meat. Fry the meat, continuously stirring/folding it until most of the fat has cooked out (try to break down the meat as finely as possible) then drain the liquid fat from the pan.
4. Add the onions & garlic and stir the mixture occasionally until the onions soften. (Don't forget to check the peppers!)
5. Once the meat’s cooked turn the heat down low & add the paprika, cumin, jalapeno slices and dried herbs, with a small amount of water. You don’t want the mixture to be too wet; this is just to prevent it from burning. Simmer on a low heat for further 5-10 minutes, or until the peppers are baked. You’ll want to taste the mixture at this point to add however much salt/black pepper you prefer.
6. Once the peppers are baked, spoon the mixture to fill the remaining space in the halves (there should be plenty of meat – I usually let it run over the sides onto my plate!) & heat on a tray for another 5 minutes before serving.
If you fancy - sprinkle some cheese on top before the extra 5 minutes in the oven, or just before serving to make it even tastier.
The baked egg and jalapeno underneath the topping makes a nice change from the regular stuffed peppers I’ve seen elsewhere, plus the added egg increases the overall protein a little. BigCyp approved!
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(Eggs: 15 for £1.35 Aldi, Beef & Pork Mince (frozen) 1kg for £3.00 Sainsbury’s, Bell Peppers 4 per bag £0.69 Aldi, Onions 1kg £0.63 Tesco, Paprika 100g for £0.49 (most Asian food stores), Cumin 100g £0.49 (most Asian food stores), Garlic 3 cloves £0.49, Jalapeno Slices 500g jar for £0.99 Londis.