Day 2: Southwest Stuffed Peppers

 

I'm not much of a stuff pepper fan.  I chose this recipe because we planted a garden and the only things that we seem to be growing an abundance of are jalapeno peppers and bell peppers.  Our basil is doing really well and our tomato plants are still producing but not like they were in the beginning.  So what to do with all those bell peppers....make stuffed peppers!

This pinterest find was linked to a blog called,  Simply Love Food . I really haven't had the chance to explore this blog but it appears to have some good lookin' food on there.  Since posting this recipe she has become a vegetarian so I bet a vegetarian could find some tasteful yummies here.  

Now, we liked the recipe okay. I think Clint really liked it but like I said, I am not much of a stuffed pepper girl.  I changed the following things only because that is what I had on hand.  I used ground beef, not turkey.  I used green bell peppers not yellow and red.  Which by the way we bought pepper plants that were labeled yellow bell peppers but they are producing green so beware when you buy plants for your garden, they may be labeled wrong.  I used a small can of shoepeg corn instead of frozen. Finally I used my homemade salsa but, I bet a mango peach salsa would have brought a nice flavor to the dish. I had a ton of filling left over so make sure to buy really large peppers if making this dish and get a few extras too.  My peppers were small and medium in size.  Total cook time was probably about an hour. 

Southwest Stuffed Peppers

• Olive Oil ( I used Tahitian lime olive oil)
• 1/2 lb lean ground turkey breast
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 heaping tbsp of homemade taco seasoning (or you can use the packaged type if you like)
• 2 cups of cooked rice (any type you like – I like brown)
• 3-4 organic bell peppers, halved and seeds removed
• 1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
• ½ cup of organic frozen corn
• 1 (15 -16 ounce) jar of salsa (my favorite is mango peach)
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese

• Toppings:
• fresh cilantro
• sour cream
• sliced avocado

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the peppers with olive oil and roast in a baking dish about 20-25 minutes just until cooked thru. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them.
*****Note – make sure you cook your turkey ahead of time that way you do not have to worry about it later. Also, I sauteed the onions until cooked thru, I then added in my cooked rice, black beans and corn.
In a bowl add the taco seasoning, cooked ground turkey, chopped onions, black beans, corn and rice. Add in the jar of salsa and mix well.
Carefully spoon the turkey mixture into each half of the bell peppers and place back into the baking dish. Cook the peppers for another 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked all the way thru. Before removing from the oven sprinkle the tops of each pepper with shredded cheddar cheese. Place back into the oven just until the cheese has melted.
Remove from the oven and top with fresh cilantro, avocado slices and/or sour cream just before serving.