Stuffed bell peppers

euphoria11
euphoria11 Posts: 49
edited September 19 in Recipes
So the hardest part about my new healthy lifestyle is cooking for both my fiance' and myself. He is atleast 6 foot only about 160 lbs... needless to say weightloss is NOT an issue for him. But without his support it would be almost impossible for me. Thankfully he jumped on board and was ready and willing to try all of my healthy recipes. One of our favorites right now are stuffed bell peppers.

I get about 1 lb. of ground turkey (I get the 97% fat free Turkey ball brand), 1/4 cup brown rice, about 1 1/2 cup salsa, chopped onions, chopped green onions, a bit of garlic, and a can of black beans.

Brown the meat ( While the mean browns, cook the rice and boil about 4 to 6 bell peppers, cook peppers until semi-tender but still crisp). Drain meat if necessary. After, add all of the veggies to the meat to cook down. Add in rice and salsa. Cook all of the goodies together... then stuff the bell peppers.

Put them in the oven at 400 degress for about 15 minutes. This is really preference to how long you would like to cook them... we cook ours on 375 for 20 minutes. As long as your peppers don't burn, you can't really mess this up.

The recipe is about a 400 calorie dinner. The black beans aren't a necessary ingredient... I just love the added flavor. But you can save about 100 cals by leaving it out.

Either way, this is a DELICIOUS recipe, that we have atleast 2 times a week!
Excellent source of protein!

Replies

  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    so the meat and filling is already cooked through, and you're just using the oven to cook the bell pepper itself, right?

    the addition of black beans also gives a big fiber boost! Sounds YUMMO
  • kandyjo
    kandyjo Posts: 4,493 Member
    YUMMY!!!!! Thanks for the info....
  • Carrie6o6
    Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
    This sounds awesome! Thanks! :bigsmile:
  • euphoria11
    euphoria11 Posts: 49
    yes it is all cooked through... Cooking it in the oven just cooks the peppers more, and adds the bell pepper flavor to the stuffing.

    The calories are per serving... per pepper.

    However you can calculate it as you cook them.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    Thanks!!
  • katealim
    katealim Posts: 45
    This is also a favorite in our house. We have the same issue; my husband is envyingly slim with a wicked metabolism and I am so not. Also we add a sprinkling of cinnamon to my 6 year olds and she just loves it.
  • HeatherD
    HeatherD Posts: 75 Member
    My Mouth is watering! can't wait to try those at home....maybe tonight!
    thanks for sharing!
  • jmdolan
    jmdolan Posts: 128
    yummy!
  • willywonka
    willywonka Posts: 743 Member
    this sounds delicious, how many peppers does this make, serving size 4?
    i'm going to have to try it :wink:
  • You are a genius! This recipe was fantastic and really filling. Yum yum yum! Thank you!
  • ilike2moveit
    ilike2moveit Posts: 776 Member
    Had stuffed peppers last night-healthy, good, and filling. I'm going to try your recipe because mine is a little different. Boil peppers in water until soft but still firm-about 15 min-drain
    combine the following ingredients and stuff in the pepper and serve:
    cooked lean hamburger (or turkey), cooked rice, large can crushed tomatoes, small can of green chillies (or omit crushed tomatoes and chillies and add a can of rotel tomatoes with green chillies)
    ENJOY!
  • iRun4wine
    iRun4wine Posts: 5,126
    Sounds amazing!! Can't wait to try it. What could you substititue for the black beans? I HATE beans :grumble:
  • linz1125
    linz1125 Posts: 441 Member
    I made stuffed peppers for the first time this week and they were soooo amazing! I used a combination of green, red, and yellow peppers for just a little different flavors. Instead of beans, I put garlic, mushrooms, a little onion, with the ground beef and sprinkled it with crushed red pepper, which just made the entire dish! With it I served some steamed yellow squash and it was one of the most refreshing meals I have made in a looong time. definetly going to be making this more often!
  • glandis
    glandis Posts: 89
    I made these tonight and eating it now. Great recipe! thank you. Yummy!:drinker:
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
    If you don't mind - I'll add my recipe.

    red bell pepper
    1/2 chopped onion
    1 can lentils
    1 package of couscous (i like casbah garlic & olive oil
    1/3 c feta, cubed
    2 tbsp of light salad dressing

    cut tops off peppers, core and devein, set aside

    cook couscous per box, add lentils, onion until water evaporates.
    Stir in feta and light dressing. Spoon into peppers.
    I bake them for about 30 minutes at 350.
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
    Lentils can be swapped out for any bean... I just like the flavor of the lentils and couscous together.
  • stacesand
    stacesand Posts: 63 Member
    Sounds yum! I do something similar except with zucchini instead of peppers. I recently bought zucchini that was ball-shaped, which worked nicely, otherwise you have to scoop out some of the middle.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
    Bump. As suggested by another member in my thread asking for recipes! :bigsmile:
  • jenzimmer
    jenzimmer Posts: 300 Member
    bump
  • HonestOmnivore
    HonestOmnivore Posts: 1,356 Member
    BUMP!

    I'm planning a Valentines meal using red peppers :bigsmile:
  • sounds delicious! cant wait to try :)
  • Okay, so I'm new the site. Trying to find healthy recipes for my new lifestyle! I read this earlier today and made it for dinner. Acutally, I'm eating while I post, omg this so delicious! Even my kids and hubby like. Thanks for sharing! We added jalapenos for a little kick.
  • MereBear_81
    MereBear_81 Posts: 19 Member
    I love stuffed bell peppers. I use my crockpot to make them though. I mix up the filling (without cooking it...I use either extra lean ground beef or turkey with brown rice for the bulk of the filling), stuff the raw peppers, and set them in the crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours. They come out perfect.
  • sdirks
    sdirks Posts: 223 Member
    BUMP! Sounds delish....
  • VLCD
    VLCD Posts: 7
    I too grew up learning to make them the EASY way --- (without having to pre-cook anything & only 1 bowl gets dirty!)...
    =========================================================================
    We'd mix the following: Filling Prep:
    --lean hamburger - 1 pkg lb
    --minute rice - 1 cup
    --red kidney beans - 1 can
    --diced white onions (or even faster - the diced freeze-dried kind in the spice section - sprinkled in..)
    --salt, pepper, a generous sprinkling of Lowry's seasoning and a few hot pepper flakes

    ''Scrunch" it all together w/ clean hands in a bowl and stuff the peppers 3/4's full...

    Pepper Prep:
    Use any colored pepper you like, wash, core out the stem (cut a hole in the top while leaving the rest of the pepper in tact)
    Scoop out the seeds w/ a teaspoon. Carefully slice of a tiny bit off their bases to ensure they can sit upright by themselves w/o falling over (but don't cut too deep - don't want the filling to drain out the bottom!); place peppers into a baking dish.

    Topping/Sauce Prep:
    Open a large inexpensive (can) of chopped tomato sauce, add salt, pepper, garlic (if desired) then pour over the top of all the peppers (filling the tops of them) and pouring the rest around the base of all the peppers sitting upright in the baking dish.
    Salt/pepper, season tops w/ any other seasonings you have in the pantry (parsley or basil, a dash of paprika, etc. as desired) and pop into the oven for 45 mins @ 350'.

    After they come out of the oven, they'd be placed on the plate and sliced 1/2 way down the front (slightly laid open as if filleted) and then the left over rich n' thick tomato sauce was poured over the top n' down the front of it.... Along side it was a nice fluffy mountain of white fluffy mashed potatoes.... to eat w/ each bite of the stuffed pepper mixture...

    Substitute the meat w/ (ground turkey to reduce cal & fat slightly)... but, knowing how yummy the extra lean beef is -- I'll probably leave this alone in order to retain the original intent of the taste. :wink:
  • Sounds great. I will make these this weekend.
This discussion has been closed.