Stuffed Bell Peppers & Homemade Salsa

As mentioned in the last post, here is my version of stuffed bell peppers.  The great thing about stuffed bell peppers is that you can modify the ingredients to your taste.  I used this recipe as a base.

My taste tip is to blend the rotel before mixing it in with everything else.  The flavors are much more enhanced!  If you don't like bell peppers, this mix goes great in tortillas for baked taquitos.  I like to use lean ground turkey, but you can use chopped turkey meat (Thanksgiving leftovers!), ground beef or ground chicken.

Ground Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers
Makes 6 

• 3 bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise
• 1/2 lb. of lean ground turkey
• 1.5 cups of cooked brown rice
• 1/2 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 can of Rotel, blended (I used hot and added jarred jalapeños)
• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro 
• 1/4 cup of nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup of chicken broth
• Reduced fat shredded cheese (I used 1/4 in the mix and some to top the pepper)
• Garlic powder
• Garlic salt
• Black pepper
• Cumin
• Cayenne pepper (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2.  Brown the ground turkey and drain excess fat.  Season with spices.

3.  Mix in a bowl: ground turkey, cooked brown rice, black beans, blended Rotel, cilantro, Greek yogurt and 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. 

4.  Rinse and cut bell peppers in half.  Fill bell peppers with the mixture and top with cheese.

5.  Place in a shallow baking dish and pour chicken broth into the dish.  This will help soften the bell peppers when baking.

6.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Top with salsa.

**Recipe BONUS!**

Homemade Salsa

Makes about 3-4 cups

• 6 roma tomatoes (~1 lb.)
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1/3 cup of chopped cilantro
• Chili peppers (depends on how spicy you want it!  I use 2 chili peppers or 1 raw jalapeño)
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 1/3 cup of chopped onion
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of sugar

Put everything in a blender and there ya go!  I usually start off with juice from 1/2 a lime and add more if needed to my taste.  Same goes with salt, pepper and sugar.  Refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Heath and I could drink this salsa.  Well, I may or may not take spoonfuls randomly throughout the day.

Hope you get to try this recipe!  Happy Thanksgiving week :)

Until next time,