Ground turkey, rice and cheese are the main ingredients in these healthy stuffed peppers – canned green chilies and tomatoes give it a nice light, flavorful kick in place of the usual heavy, thick tomato paste.
This is the kind of meal that’s nice to make ahead and have on hand for a day when you can’t devote a lot of time to prep. Make ahead, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate the night (or a couple days) before. When you’re ready, unwrap and pop them in the slow cooker, cover with chicken stock and dinner is done in 3-4 hours. I cook for two and have a small slow cooker, so I cook 3 peppers at a time, freezing the other 3 for another meal.
Try these with a salad or green beans on the side. The fresh vegetables of summer are but a memory now, but green beans are one of the few veggies that taste relatively fresh when cooked from frozen (in my humble opinion).
For the healthiest version of this recipe, use a low fat ground turkey, wild rice, and the minimal amount of cheese.
INGREDIENTS
6 large bell peppers
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup cooked rice
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 -10 oz. can tomatoes and green chilies (name brand Rotel – mild or regular)
1 small yellow or white onion, (about 3/4 cup) chopped
3 cloves garlic , minced
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper
1 cup fresh tomato, chopped
DIRECTIONS
Cut tops off peppers and scoop out ribs and seeds.
Cook rice until “al dente” or somewhat firm in the middle (in a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup uncooked rice to boil in 1 cup of salted water; reduce to simmer, cover and cook until water is just absorbed).
In large mixing bowl combine turkey, rice, Rotel, onion, garlic and desired amount of cheese. Add egg, salt, garlic and onion powders, and pepper and mix thoroughly.
Stuff peppers with mixture and place in slow cooker stuffed side up.
Pour chicken stock over and around peppers .
Sprinkle peppers with chopped tomato.
Cook on low about 4 hours or high about 3 hours. If desired, sprinkle some shredded cheese on top about 30 minutes before it is done.
Healthy, EZ, Yummy! 