Stuffed Peppers-- Healthy Version :-)

Last night, I revised my stuffed pepper recipe and made a healthier version of it. I normally just eye every ingredient and make mental notes of what I put in it. However, I've had a few requests and the meal was such a hit, that I want to keep it in rotation. Here's a recipe that I put together from what I can remember from my metal notes. Give it a try and ENJOY!!!

 

Stuffed Peppers

• 1 lb of lean ground turkey

• 1/2 cup of chopped onions, red/yellow/green peppers (I buy them already chopped and frozen by PictSweet…. You can find them in the frozen vegetable section at wal mart, food lion and etc…)

• 1 can of organic crushed tomatoes (any brand…. I used Hunts I think)

• 1/2 jar of organic pasta sauce (I make my own but will buy Prego or Ragu onion/tomato/garlic brand in a time crunch and it taste GREAT)

• Multi-Grain Medley (this is the healthier version in place of white rice… It comes in a box made by Minute Rice with 4 pre-portioned bags… I used only 1 bag for this meal… it is a mixture of brown rice, red rice, wild rice and quinoa… it is 100% whole grain and gluten free)

• seasonings… 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, a dash of sugar, a few dashes of salt and black pepper

• fat free cheese OR any shredded cheese on top… you don’t really need to keep it fat free since you’ll only use a little on each pepper 

• Green Bell Peppers (4-6... for this recipe, I used 4 peppers cut in half for a total of 8 stuffed peppers)

Directions

• Boil the rice per the directions, set it aside in a large mixing bowl once it’s cooked.

• Cook your ground turkey in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil (or whatever oil you prefer)

• Drain your turkey and return it to the stove

• Add in the chopped onions and peppers until they cook for about 3-5 minutes

• Add in your seasonings (garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper)

• Add your can of crushed tomatoes, sauce and a little sugar to bring out the flavors

• Let it cook for about 5-7 minutes

• Pour your meat mixture into the mixing bowl with the muti grain medley… Combine them all together until you get your desired consistency. You don’t want it to be too runny because it will run out of the peppers when it cooks.

• Wash your peppers, slice them in half and clean out the seeds…

• Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place them into a large baking pan

• Top them with shredded cheese, loosely cover them with foil and bake them for 30 minutes on 400-425 degrees

• Take the foil off and bake them for 5 more minutes until the cheese melts

• Let them cool for 10 minutes and INDULGE!!!