Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Today I want to share with you my recipe for turkey stuffed peppers. Stuffed peppers are such a warm, delicious meal and Corey and I love them. I’ve tried so many recipes that were almost perfect and finally adapted them to make one of my own that I just love. I make these with ground turkey in our home because Corey and I almost never eat ground beef. Its part of this health kick we’ve been on over the last year. I always buy the leanest turkey available.

First, gather your ingredients and pour yourself a glass of wine.

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 4 large green bell peppers
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove minced garlic or 1 Tbsp. on the jarred stuff
• 1 tsp. garlic powder 
• 1 Tbsp. oregano
• 1 cup cooked brown rice 
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• mozzarella cheese 

Begin by preheating the oven to 400. Meanwhile bring a pot of water to boil on the stove.

Slice the tops of peppers off and remove the seeds. Dice the tops of peppers and set aside with your onion.

Brown turkey in a large saucepan with 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 Tbsp. oregano (or 1 tsp. dried) and salt to taste. After about 2 minutes, add diced onion and peppers. I usually wait a few minutes to add these since they will later cook in the oven and I don’t want them to be too over done.

Meanwhile, cook 1 cup of brown rice. I usually just use Minute Rice. Set aside.

Drop peppers into boiling water to blanch for 2-3 minutes. This ensures that they will be cooked through by the end. Remove and set aside.

Once meat is browned, add 1 can of diced tomatoes and the brown rice to the meat mixture and combine well.

Add 1 cup of pasta sauce to the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. Stuff each pepper with the meat mixture, patting down so that they are packed firm. Then add peppers to the baking dish.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake 40-45 minutes until peppers are cooked through. Remove foil and add cheese to the top of each pepper and cook an additional five minutes or until cheese is melted. (You can also broil to make cheese more crispy – just be sure to keep a close eye on the peppers so they don’t burn!)

Ladle pasta sauce on a plate then place a pepper on top. Enjoy!

*Hint: The next time I made these, I stuck them back in the oven under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Even better!