stuffed bell peppers

Eating chicken and vegetables through the week can get extremely boring. So, I will often pick up ingredients to make the stuffed bell peppers to mix things up. Mike just loves these peppers, and they make great leftovers! The last time I made these peppers I forgot to pick up brown rice, and only had quinoa in the pantry. This substitute turned out phenomenal! Not only does it add as a source of protein, but the quinoa soaks up the flavors, which make the leftovers even better!

(Makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

4-6 large bell peppers, colors optional

1 cup rice or quinoa

2 cups water

1 lb. ground turkey meat

3/4 cup shredded cheese (I use the 4 cheese)

1 medium onion

2 tsp. olive oil

Directions:

1. Start by cooking 1 cup of long grain brown rice or quinoa (quinoa takes 20 minutes where the brown rice takes about 45 minutes).
2. Cut off the stem end of the pepper, but save them to dice up to cook later. Remove seeds and place in non-stick baking dish. 
3. Chop up the pepper tops and the onion. 
4. Heat olive and saute peppers and onions for 4-5 minutes until they are soft. 
5. Remove peppers and add more olive oil, then add the ground turkey and brown.
6. Add the sauteed vegetables to the cooked meat along with dry spices (I use oregano, thyme, salt & pepper). Saute 3 minutes to blend the flavors.
7. Mix in the cooked rice (or quinoa) along with 1/2 cup of cheese. Turn off heat.
8. Fill the peppers and press down so they are tightly packed. Top with more cheese. 
9. Fill the bottom of the pan with about a half inch of water (this will essentially steam your peppers to make them softer),
10. Bake peppers at 375F for 30-40 minutes, until cheese on top is melted.
11. Serve hot. Enjoy.

Nutritional Content (one pepper):

Calories: 294

Total Fat: 10 g

Saturated fats: 2 g

Trans Fats: 0 g

Cholesterol: 90 mg

Sodium: 145 mg

Potassium: 0 g

Carbohydrates: 19 g

Dietary fiber: 3 g

Sugars: 2 g

Protein: 26 g

PLEASE NOTE: This recipe was taken from multiple Pinterest pins and the provided nutritional information was estimated at MyFitnessPal.com. Data may not be accurate and is subject to the availability of specific food in their database. This information is for general reference only and is not exact.