Turkey and Rice Stuffed Peppers

Is anyone else majorly suffering from allergies? As I write this, I'm sniffling, sneezing, aching all over - I know, I just painted such a pretty picture for you. Sometimes I miss the concrete jungle air of NYC where there's no living or breathing plant life to bother me.

I'm being selfish though. Who am I kidding, I love the Earth - trees, grass, flowers, dirt (in small amounts, and preferably not on my dog). I also love peppers that the Earth continues to give us. I haven't made stuffed peppers in a long time, over a year, so when contemplating something different for dinner recently, they "popped" into my head.

In addition to ground lean turkey and brown rice, I used tomatoes and cheese for this meal. Here's a tip for helping your wallet and the environment: stretch your favorite supper into leftovers for lunch or for the next dinner! Lots of things, including these peppers, taste even better the next day.

Start by removing the top of the pepper. I'm a pro at this because I used to be second shift during my waitressing days and my side work happened to be cutting peppers. Fun.times. Remove the seeds and the little white membranes that are stuck to the sides and rinse the peppers under cold water.

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the peppers. Heat to boiling and then carefully add peppers. Cook about 2 minutes and drain. Set those aside for a little while.

Meanwhile, saute chopped yellow onion and chopped garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for a couple minutes. Add the ground turkey on top of that, and cook until that's browned. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Italian herbs. Turkey can be bland, especially when ground, so the herbs are important!

Start out by stirring in a cup of the tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes to the meat mixture. Cook until hot, reducing heat to medium or medium-low. 

Add in cooked rice and stir together. You may want to add more tomato sauce if you like it more liquid-y. For this recipe, I ended up using almost the whole can of sauce, and definitely the whole can of diced tomatoes. 

Oh, don't tell anyone I cheated, but I definitely used Uncle Ben's 90-second brown rice pack instead of cooking my own. It was a weeknight. Worth it!

After two minutes, add in the cheeses and mix well until its melted and well blended. I used a combo of white cheddar and Parmesean and it was fab-u-lous.

Now the fun part :o) Heat your oven to 375 degrees, we're almost ready. Since I had two peppers, I used a small baking pan with a quarter inch of water in the bottom so that the peppers wouldn't burn.  on the bottom.

Stuff stuff stuff away. Then placed them carefully into the pan. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until tops become browned. Yum. 

Remove them from the oven and top with optional (but recommended) provolone cheese. Bake again for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

For a meatless meal, nix the turkey and add in quinoa, kale, or other veggies. I love the versatility of this dish. I mean, just Google "stuffed peppers" and I'm sure you'll have a hard time picking a recipe (hint: pick this one!) I'm thinking the next theme I want to try is either Southwestern style (ground beef, black beans, corn, cumin, paprika) or Greek style (feta, lamb, whole wheat cous cous, red onion).

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Turkey and Rice Stuffed Peppers
makes 2-3 stuffed peppers

• ½ pound ground turkey
• 2-3 large red or green bell peppers
• ½ cup chopped yellow onion 
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 
• 1½ cups cooked brown rice
• 1 can (15 ounces) organic tomato sauce 
• 1 small can (8 ounces) diced tomatoes 
• ¼ cup each of shredded cheddar and Parmesean cheeses
• 1 slice of provolone cheese
• Salt, pepper, and Italian herbs seasoning to taste

 

1. Cut thin slice from stem end of each bell pepper to remove top of pepper. Remove seeds and membranes; rinse peppers. If necessary, cut thin slice from bottom of each pepper so they stand up straight. In 4-quart Dutch oven, or large pot, add enough water to cover peppers. Heat to boiling; add peppers. Cook about 2 minutes; drain.

 

2. In a large skillet, cook onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil for 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Add turkey and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Italian herbs. Cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. 

 

3. Stir in 1 cup of the tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes. Stir and cook until hot, reducing heat to medium or medium-low.

 

4. Add in cooked rice and stir together. You may want to add more tomato sauce if you like it more liquid-y. After two minutes, add in the cheeses and mix well.

5. Line a small baking pan with a quarter inch of water and heat oven to 375 degrees. Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place carefully into the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until tops become browned; remove and top with optional provolone cheese. Bake again for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.