Stuffed Peppers

This recipe will stuff 6 to 8 medium to large sized peppers. If they are large I usually cut the pepper in half. Because that is a lot of food for just Michael and myself I often freeze the "stuffing" and take it out a month later or so and either stuff peppers with it again or do something completely different with it.

Also I always here people say they don't like green peppers the taste is too strong. So do others...red, yellow, and orange are more on the sweet side.

The recipe:
6 to 8 Red, Yellow or Orange Peppers (I never do green but feel free to do them if it is what you like)
1 lb ground turkey (most recipes call for beef and really you can use that - I just use ground turkey as it is a little more healthy)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic minced
pepper to taste
1 cup cooked rice
1 can of kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 can of corn - drained
1 can of diced or crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup shredded cheese (I use whatever I have on hand)

Cut the steam end of each pepper off. If they are large peppers cut them in half. Remove seeds and membranes, rinse peppers and then cook peppers in boiling water to cover - for about 5 minutes. Drain.

Cook ground meat, garlic, pepper, and onion in a skillet, stirring occasionally, until meet is light brown, drain. Stir in cooked rice, kidney beans, corn, and diced tomatoes and heat until all is mixed and hot.

Heat oven to 350. Stuff peppers with beef mixture. Stand in square baking dish. Top with cheese. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.



Stuffed peppers are a favorite of mine and I have stuffed them differently over the years...

Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers - just make your normal sloppy joe mix and stuff the peppers with it and top with cheese

Taco Stuffed Pepper - do black beans instead of kidney beans, do salsa instead of diced tomatoes, could even mix in some crushed tortilla chips or corn chips. Top with cheese.

Chicken Stuffed Peppers - do a can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup, cooked rice, diced cooked chicken, chopped broccoli or asparagus

Italian Stuffed Pepper - ground sweet italian sausage browned with onion and garlic, mixed with mushrooms, ricotta cheese, and some tomato sauce with seasonings. Mix together stuff in the peppers and top with some Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese.

Vegetarian - There are all sorts of wonderful vegetables - zucchini, spaghetti squash, mushrooms, onions, asparagus, broccoli - combine any with a tomato sauce and herbs. Oh and don't forget beans! Kidney, navy, great northern, black beans...all would be great with a combo of veggies and sauce. If you do dairy - top with cheese.

Just think of your favorite veggies or meat and decide what sauce to combine it with and stuff it in peppers.