Turkey-Stuffed Red Peppers

Once you have mastered the recipe for Turkey Meatballs (in yesterday's post), you have the ability to take the same ground turkey mixture and turn it into almost anything that calls for ground beef.

One such recipe that, I believe, is improved with the substitution of ground turkey for the traditional beef is Turkey-Stuffed Peppers.  The traditional stuffed pepper is comprised of a mixture of ground beef and rice.  Although I do love the use of rice in stuffed peppers, which turns them into a complete meal, I often opt to omit the rice and serve the peppers alongside a colorful vegetable.  Since stuffed peppers tend to be quite filling on their own (a quintessential comfort food), I find it refreshing to change it up once in a while.

Feel free to get creative with the ground turkey mixture you use as your pepper stuffing.  Although I normally have green peppers on hand when I make this dish, today I used red peppers, which add a nice sweetness that compliments the turkey very well!  You can also choose to use the yellow or orange peppers to add some unique color to your plate.

Here are the steps I take when preparing the peppers, stuffing them, arranging them for baking, and toping them with sauce and cheese:

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Turkey-Stuffed Red Peppers

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 small onion, grated or blended in a food processor until fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1/2 c. breadcrumbs
1 - 8oz. can Hunt’s tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon Oregano
¼ c. Parsley
¼ c. Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ c. Pecorino Romano, grated
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper


2 large bell peppers, any color
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (for topping)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (for topping)


Note: I like to search the selection of peppers at the grocery store to find those that are large enough to slice in half and stuff.  The skinnier forms do not work as well.


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


In a large bowl, combine the first 12 ingredients to make the turkey filling. Set aside.


Slice each pepper lengthwise so that each separate half has a flat side that will act as a stable bottom.  Carefully remove all the ribs and seeds.

Stuff the pepper halves until the meat is a half inch higher than their top edge.  Make sure you have densely packed the meat into every crevice of the peppers.

Place each pepper in the bottom of a deep baking dish so that they fit snug and will not tip over during the baking process.

Top each pepper with a homemade tomato-based sauce, or a flavorful canned tomato sauce if you do not have anything fresh on hand.

Pour about 1/2 cup of low-sodium chicken broth into the bottom of the pan.  This will help steam the peppers until they are perfectly tender.

Sprinkle the top of the peppers with the 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese and cover with tin foil.

I have stuffed the peppers, placed them in a loaf pan,  topped them with homemade spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese, and filled the bottom with 1/2 cup of chicken broth.  I will cover the pan with tin foil and bake!

Place on center oven rack and bake for 45 minutes with the tin foil on.  After 45 minutes, remove the tin foil, top the peppers with shredded mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and bake, uncovered,  for another 10 minutes until a golden cheesy crust forms.

Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes to cool before plating.
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The nice thing about this Turkey-Stuffed Red Pepper recipe is that it can be easily adapted to serve as few or as many people as you like.  In general, this recipe made with a whole pound of ground turkey is way more than I need most of the time.  I would suggest making extra stuffed peppers and freezing them for a quick meal on another day, or using the excess meat for meatballs to have with spaghetti later in the week.  So versatile!

Enjoy!

Librarian turned Foodie