Monday, May 12, 2014

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I've probably tried a dozen recipes for stuffed peppers and just couldn't find the right one- some are so watery, some lack flavor, and some are stuffed with filler, unhealthy ingredients.


I was about to give up on my perpetual pursuit to pin down the perfect pepper recipe (try saying that 5 times fast, lol) and then I got a great deal on multi-colored bell peppers at the grocery store, so I decided to give it one more shot. Josh was less than thrilled that I was attempting yet another stuffed pepper recipe, so we agreed, if this one doesn't work, we can throw in the towel on this meal.


So for this last and final go-round, I decided to combine the pros from all the recipes I've tried up to this point, and of course, make sure its fix-approved. And the results turned out great- try it for yourself!

Stuffed Peppers
Yield: 4 peppers
Fix Portions (per pepper): 2 green, 1 red, ½ yellow, ½ blue


Ingredients
  • 4 bell peppers (color of your choice)
  • ½ pound 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 green container (about 1 cup) onions, chopped
  • 2 yellow containers (about 1 cup) cooked brown rice
  • 2 blue containers shredded cheddar cheese (I like Kraft triple cheddar)
  • 1 tbsp each ground cumin, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning
  • 1 tbsp tabasco (more or less to taste)
  • ½ tsp salt (optional)


Directions

  1. Cook rice according to package instructions
  2. In a skillet with a little EVOO, saute onion and garlic until tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
  3. In same skillet, brown ground turkey
  4. Meanwhile, chop the tops off bell peppers. Heat a large pot of water to boiling.
  5. Boil peppers for 3 minutes and remove. Drain on paper towels
  6. Open can of tomatoes and separate the tomatoes from the juice/sauce its in- but save the juice and spread it in the bottom of a small pyrex baking dish.
  7. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground turkey, sauteed onions/garlic, 1 blue container cheese, 2 yellow containers rice, diced tomatoes, tabasco, and seasoning. Mix well.
  8. Fill each pepper with mixture. Top with remaining 1 blue container cheese and sprinkle paprika on top
  9. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes




101 comments:

  1. I made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

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  2. a TABLESPOON of each of those ingredients? I did it was a teaspoon and was plenty! a typo maybe?

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    1. I usually eyeball my seasonings and prefer more than less, so that's why I suggested a tablespoon. But you are more than welcome to adjust the seasonings to your personal preference :)

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    2. I made this last night doubling the recipe and used only 1 TABLESPOON of each and it was plenty spicy!

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  3. Replies
    1. I served them by themselves because they have veggies, protein, and grains all in one! You could always serve some nice fruit on the side too :)

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    2. I just made this last night using Tablespoons - delish! To me it needed that extra flavor!!!

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  4. Aproximately how much cheese did you use? I don't have the containers...

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  5. Can't wait to try this recipe! Won't make it often because I only get 3 greens/day :(

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    1. I was on the 3 greens/day plan too! You can always reduce the onion and tomato to cut out a green serving. Or, if you go over 1 portion on green, that is fine too! Autumn Calabrese even said herself its hard to overeat vegetables, so if you are feeling hungry on 21-day fix, bump up your green serving- it won't adversely affect your results!

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  6. This recipe looks great to me, but I don't think I could get my husband to even try one! Do you know if these would freeze well? Maybe leave off the cheese until ready to reheat them? Thanks!

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    1. I don't see why they couldn't be frozen- you could definitely freeze the stuffing I would think. Maybe add a little water to the pan when you bake them after they are frozen. Let me know if you try that and how it turns out!

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    2. Has anyone froze these before. Was thinking about trying it? I love these peppers.

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    3. I don't feel the pepper would freeze well at all but the mixture would. I freeze chili all the time

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    4. Peppers freeze well, cooked or raw. As long as the peppers are sealed against freezer burn, these puppies should be fine.

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  7. I just made this tonight, and it is delicious!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

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  8. can you substitute the brown rice for couscous? I just bought some and I don't have any recipes for it. Do you have any idea?

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    1. Sounds like a great idea! Let me know how it turns out!

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  9. I'm adding your recipe to our menu this week! A spin I usually do is 3 links of italian turkey sausage (Jenni-O's hot italian) taken out of the casings, 2/3 or so of a jar of green chili sauce or salsa verde, and about a cup of cooked whole wheat orzo. I put the bell peppers in the oven while I brown the meat so they start to get tender. Once the sausage is cooked, combine the meat/orzo/sauce and stuff the peppers then continue to bake for 20-30 minutes. My husband thought I was crazy the first time I made it, but they're in regular rotation now.

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  10. I am going to feature these in a 21 Day Fix Recipe round up!

    Amanda @ Old House to New Home

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  11. Oh wow! My mouth sure is watering right now, just by looking at the picture. I'm definitely going to try that out for dinner later. Thank you so much for sharing that wonderful recipe! Happy cooking!

    Bob Andrews @ Chili House

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  12. What do your coloured containers mean?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tracy,
      21-Day Fix is a fitness program produced by Beachbody (the makers of Insanity and P90x). This program teaches you how to exercise and eat balanced, portioned meals. Each color container represents a food group and serving size that corresponds to your meal plan on the program. Here is the link to 21-day fix for more information: http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCP21D160?referringRepId=371296

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  13. I made these tonight and they came out delicious! The whole family enjoyed them!

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  14. They look sooo good what the breakout per serving in "containers"? I can't do the math 😁

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    1. These are the "container" portions you check off per pepper- its listed at the top of the recipe too, should you need to reference it again :)

      Fix Portions (per pepper): 2 green, 1 red, ½ yellow, ½ blue

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    2. What about the Tomatoes? Do you count that container?

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    3. For each pepper you eat, check off 2 greens- that accounts for the mixture of tomatoes, onions, and the actual bell pepper in this dish.

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    4. I thought tomatoes counted as a purple container? I am still new to the 21 day fix, am I wrong?

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    5. On page 25 tomatoes are a green container food

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    6. yeah tomato sauce is purple

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  15. These were pretty tasty! Will definitely make again, thanks for the recipe.

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  16. I'll have to make these, sounds delicious.

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  17. OMG made these tonight and they were DELICIOUS. Instead of using tomatoes, I used chunky mild salsa and did not put any rice. Thanks for sharing!!!

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    Replies
    1. Oooo sounds great- I'll have to try that variation! Thanks for sharing!

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  18. Where you list the Fix portions I don't see anything for a red container. Would the meat count for a red?

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    Replies
    1. Never mind. I'm obviously blind haha! You have the red

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  19. Made these tonight and agree with all above...delicious! I used Quinoa instead of rice and for the heck of it , I tried ground Bison instead of ground turkey. They turned out great! Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Oooo I've never tried the bison- but I know its a very lean meat- I will have to try that sometime!

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  20. Made these tonight and they were fantastic!! Surprisingly filling, too. Question on the red, since it's only 1/2 pound of beef spread across 4 peppers, that's about 2 oz. per pepper. So wouldn't that make it 1/2 red?

    Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

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    1. So glad you liked them! Your calculations on the red portions make total sense to me- yay for freeing up some more red portions for another meal! Thanks!

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  21. What all does this recipe account for as in the containers? 1 filled pepper is equal to how many of which containers? Thanks and can't wait to try this!!!

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    1. Its listed at the top of this recipe (and each of the 21-day fix recipes on this site)- that way you don't have to figure it out on your own :). For this recipe, check off 2 green, 1 red, ½ yellow, ½ blue

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  22. What's a green container? Or what's a yellow one?

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    1. The 21-day fix meal plan is based off of color-coded food storage containers. Each food group represents a different color. For example, green is vegetables, yellow is grains. When you do the program, the meal plan gives you a calculation (based on your personal weight, calorie range, etc) that will tell you how many of each colored containers to eat per day. Each container is also a different size so that you learn portion control and food balance. It may sound complicated at first, but once you start it, its so EASY to follow and it really works!

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  23. Just had these (literally less than 30 minutes ago). AMAZING!!!! Lucky for me I was WAY under my portions so I was able to have 2. The wife wasn't happy though. She was only able to have one.

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  24. Do these keep well for leftovers the next day?

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  25. Honeybee - what is the serving size on these? 1 stuffed pepper = the fix portions you listed above, or does 4 stuffed peppers equal the fix portions you listed?

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  26. Amazing! My 4 year old chowed down an entire pepper! I will be making these again soon!

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    Replies
    1. Awesome! Now if I could get my 2 year old to eat them lol...

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  27. Yummy! I'm gonna make this tomorrow night.. I just love bell pepper recipes and thanks again for great blog

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  28. Just shared the recipe with my whole beach body team. These were outstanding!!!! Thank you!!!

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  29. These were very good but super spicy! And I like spicy food. I may cut back the Tabasco next time. Also only used 1/2 tbsp for all the other spices

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    Replies
    1. Yes, definitely feel free to adjust the spices to taste- I usually just eyeball everything myself :)

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  30. How many ounces is the can of tomatoes?

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  31. I made this and it was delicious. I used way less tomatoes though because I hate them but it was soooo good!

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    Replies
    1. You can omit the tomatoes if you want- my daughter won't eat anything that touches a tomato lol :)... But glad you liked them!

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  32. In the oven right now! I did a little taste test and YUMMY!

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  33. Do you think these can be premade up to the baking point, frozen, and then baked later in the week? I do most meal prep on Sundays but would want this midweek.

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  34. Just starting the 21 DF and have so many of your recipes pinned. Tried this one tonight and I'm impressed! Thanks for sharing (and breaking down the container count too)!
    Can't wait to try more :-)

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  35. Question about serving sizes...so 2 stuffed peppers is 1 serving??

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    1. No, one pepper counts as 2 green, 1 red, 1/2 yellow and 1/2 blue. So you could eat two if you still needed double of those portions for the day.

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  36. Has anyone ever tried these in the crock pot?

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    Replies
    1. I am wondering the same thing.

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    2. I did recently! Just make the filling, stuff, and place in a crockpot with 1/2 cup of water and cook on low 8-10 hours

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  37. Hi! So, it's only 1/2 a red, right? I seen you agreed to it on a comment but it doesn't look like you corrected it on the your 21DF count area. So, I should use 1 lb of turkey for 1 whole red? Sorry, I'm new and just trying do it as correctly as possible.

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    1. 1 lb. of ground turkey is for all for peppers. 4oz per pepper would be counted as 1 red

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  38. I made your recipe and it was great! Thanks for the great instructions!

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  39. I made your recipe and it was great! Thanks for the great instructions!

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  40. I hate any kind of peppers could I use a tomato as the vehicle for this dish?? How would I count it with the containers?

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely! My book has tomato listed as green, so the portion/color count would stay the same... Or you could just eat the filling... Or maybe even try stuffing a portobello mushroom cap?

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  41. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  42. I made these tonight but subbed quinoa for the rice-- so delicious!

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  43. Just curious why it's 1 Red when you're only using 8oz of turkey for 4 servings. Isn't a red typically about 4 oz? Wouldn't a pepper be 1/2 Red?

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  44. I made this tonight. Yum. Very flavorful.

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  45. Made these last night. They were very tasty, except next time I would not drain the juice from the tomatoes. The mixture inside was a little dry, and the extra liquid would have helped.

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  46. Do you know how many calories this would be for calorie counting?

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  47. I've never had a stuffed bell pepper before so I thought i would try your recipe. I just made these and they are extremely good! ��

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  48. I made this last night and meal prepped them for the entire work week, that are insanely good! So flavorful and amazing, thank you so much for the recipe.

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  49. Can't wait to make this but I have a question about the container counts. It calls for 1/2 pound of turkey, which is 8oz, so each pepper would have 2oz of meat, so wouldn't it be 1/2 a red per serving? Or should I bump up the turkey to 1 pound to have 4oz per pepper and therefore 1 red per serving? Thanks!

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  50. I usually double the stuffing portion of the recipe and FREEZE 1/2 of just the stuffing portion so next time I want stuffed peppers or have several ready at one time from my garden, I have a quick and easy meal!!! The stuffing freezes just fine! Just defrost, warm, stuff the peppers (I usually bake just the peppers in the oven for about 20 min first, then take them out and stuff them) then bake them in the oven. This makes the peppers themselves much softer, yummier.

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  51. This Stuffed Peppers recipe is easy to make, pleasing to the eye, filling, and packed with nutritious and delicious ingredients. Pakistani-Recipes

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