Southwest Stuffed Peppers + Southwest Cheesy soup

This was my first attempt at stuffed peppers. Yummy! I love bell peppers - they are so pretty! Relatively easy recipe. However I had a TON of filling left. I turned it into soup today! Both girls scarfed the soup.

Southwest Stuffed Peppers

1lb ground beef - brown and crumbled
1pkg taco seasoning
2C cooked rice
4 bell peppers - halved and seeded
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
1C sweet corn
1 jar (16oz) salsa
1C shredded cheddar cheese
olive oil

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the peppers with olive oil and roast in a baking dish about 20-25 minutes just until cooked through. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them.
In a bowl add the taco seasoning, cooked ground beef, black beans, corn and rice. Add in the jar of salsa and mix well.
Carefully spoon the beef mixture into each half of the bell peppers and place back into the baking dish. Cook the peppers for another 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked all the way through. Before removing from the oven sprinkle the tops of each pepper with shredded cheddar cheese. Place back into the oven just until the cheese has melted.

Southwest Cheesy Soup

Leftover stuffed pepper filling
milk
1/2lb cubed Velveeta

Add the filling to a sauce pan. Add enough milk to cover the mixture and make it "soupy". Add the Velveeta. Simmer until heated through and the cheese is melted.

We topped ours with shredded lettuce, cheese and sour cream. Tortilla chips would be good too! 1