Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Stuffed Bell Peppers








Oh how I love this dish. If I ate these once a week for the rest of my life, I'd be completely okay with it. My mom made these for us growing up, and it was always one of my favorites! And while I love an entire stuffed pepper filled with full fat beef and rice, my waistline doesn't. So, I made a few changes to lighten it up. Unfortunately I can't give you nutritional info or points, but I can give you the best stuffed pepper you'll ever eat! I'm not a huge stickler for measurements and with this recipe, you really can't screw up, so don't sweat being exact, just do what tastes good!



Stuffed Bell Peppers, the lightened version!



Ingredients


3-4 green peppers, seeded and halved, with membranes removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion diced

2-3 carrots, peeled and diced

2-3 celery stalked, peeled and diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup cooked rice

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 15 oz can tomato sauce (I used 1 1/2 cans, I like mine saucy!)

1/4-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (I used Monterrey Jack and it was great)



Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil pepper halves for 5 minutes, drain. Coat a large skillet with olive oil and saute carrots, celery, garlic, and onion for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add ground turkey and cook until turkey is cooked through. Drain. Add garlic salt, rice and half of the tomato sauce, heat through.




Preheat oven to 350. Stuff each pepper half with meat mixture until mixture reaches the top of pepper. Place peppers in a 9 x13 inch pan, meat side up. Pour remaining sauce over peppers and cover with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes, uncover pan and cook for 15 more minutes.




Since I only made two peppers the first time, I had a little extra filling. So rather then stuffing the peppers, I made a casserole by putting all the meat mixture in the bottom of the pan and then layering the peppers on top after boiling and slicing. I also used red peppers instead, it was just as delicious.



And one other thing! I was awarded this adorable award from Gianina at Gianina's Kitchen. She's got a great blog with delicious looking recipes, you must check her out, thanks Gianina!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmm! Looks and sounds good, bet it smelled heavenly! I love to stuffed anything. esp if it's got cheese!

Donna-FFW said...

Teresa- Looks terrific, Ill have to try this version with turkey.. awesome.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I've yet to make or try stuffed peppers. It looks like something my kiddos would like! Thanks for lightening up and sharing the recipe. Speaking of thanks...thanks for visiting my blog!

I'll be back...I checked out your desserts and that first one german chocolate cheesecake sounds good! I know. I really shouldn't be checking out the desserts.
~ingrid

Heather S-G said...

yum, these look really great. i haven't had a stuffed pepper in forever! guess I'll have to try one again soon!

Pam said...

I love stuffed peppers - I wish I had one for lunch today.

Maria said...

I love stuffed peppers, YUM!

Coleens Recipes said...

Your recipe is just in time...hubby (who would fall down and die on the floor if I fed him a pepper) is going to be gone this week, so I can make these for myself! Thanks.

Debbie said...

Stuffed peppers are one of my absolute favorites. I don't make them often enough and am always reminded how much I love them when I see a recipe for them. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Oh wow! I could eat these once a week for the rest of my life too! I love stuffed peppers.

MaryBeth said...

These Peppers look wonderful Teresa and tastefully done !

Netts Nook said...

Oh they look great I shared stuffed peppers a few weeks ago. Now I love them can't wait to try with the turkey. Thanks Teresa

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Stuffed peppers were a mainstay when I was grwoing up too. I like your substitution of turkey for beef. I will give it a try!

Anonymous said...

I have a ton of red peppers to still use up - I'll have to give this one a try!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Yum! I love stuffed peppers...but sadly the rest of my family does not. Guess I'll have to make this just for me. :)

gluten free pammy said...

I made this for my husband and he loved it

jor said...

yummm! I love bell peppers, this looks awesome!

Unknown said...

These look amazing!

Angela said...

Got them in the oven right now & can't wait to have dinner! Thanks for more great ideas!