Gluten Free Cauliflower, Pork and Beef Stuffed Peppers

I've been dying to use my Crock-Pot and every time I think about it, I get too lazy to run to the grocery store in the morning, or night before, so I can prep the meal to cook all day. Last weekend was no different. I planned ahead and settled on stuffed peppers, but of course, my day got away from me and I ended up getting home from the store at 4 pm. If I had used the Crock-Pot, dinner wouldn't have been ready until at least 9 so that idea was off the table. Thankfully, cooking stuffed peppers on the stove top are equally as easy so I didn't abandon my plan.

I had never made stuffed peppers before but LOVE my Deconstructed Stuffed Red Pepper Soup recipe so I was looking forward to tasting this recipe. I though I'd take a healthier route so instead of finding a recipe with rice stuffed peppers, I found one that used cauliflower instead. I think it helped to make the peppers more moist and definitely added great flavor. I think I would prefer this recipe with red peppers over green, but it really is all about preference.

While the peppers were cooking, I baked Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies, so be on the lookout for that recipe soon.

Recipe:
2 pounds ground pork, or a combination of pork and beef. I used both
4 large green peppers 
1 large onion
2 carrots
4 cloves garlic
1/2 head cauliflower
6 ounce can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dry oregano 
1 tablespoon dry, Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Cut the tops of the peppers and clean the seeds out. Arrange peppers in a deep baking dish or slow cooker standing up and make sure they fit securely.
2) Grate onion, carrots, garlic and cauliflower in the food processor. You can also just chop them into small pieces with a knife if you don’t have a food processor. I did it this way. It took some time but worth the effort.
3) In a big bowl, combine ground pork, shredded vegetables, seasonings and tomato paste.
4) Add salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the peppers with the mixture and arrange leftover meat between the peppers. Cooked in the oven, covered, for 1-2 hours, or 8-10 hours on low in the slow cooker.

Minced cauliflower, carrot, onion and garlic mixture

Combining the veggies with the meat before filling the peppers

Filled peppers, with excess meat and veggie mixture surrounding the stuffed peppers

The finished product! They looked much brighter before cooking but they tasted great