Snappy Stuffed Peppers

I put a healthy twist on an old family favorite when developing this recipe- these peppers are chock full of veggies, spices and lean protein, making them considerably lower in fat and high in fiber with plenty of flavor. Use multicolored peppers for a colorful display.

4 bell peppers (green, red, yellow or orange)
½ pound ground turkey
¾ cup white onion chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
7 ounces (1/2 a can) of crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon crushed garlic or 2 cloves chopped
1 ½ teaspoons paprika
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ cup corn (fresh, canned or frozen, thawed)
½ cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
¼ teaspoon salt
ICB spray or olive oil using olive oil sprayer (if both n/a use a teaspoon of olive oil)
½ cup shredded low fat shredded cheese (optional, for topping *use a gluten-free brand such as Trader Joe's if you are on a gluten-free diet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops of the peppers off, hollow out, removing seeds and set aside.



Cook the peppers until just before soft, such that they are still firm/keep their shape. This can be done by either placing them in a pot of boiling water or microwaving them in a 4 quart pyrex dish filled with a half inch of water for four minutes. Drain and set cooked peppers aside.



Spray a medium sized pan with ICB or olive oil sprayer (if neither are available use a teaspoon of olive oil), add the turkey meat and brown for a five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the crushed tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic, paprika and cumin, mix well and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5- 8 minutes. Once the mixture is mostly cooked and the turkey is well browned, fold in the corn, rice, salt and cilantro and cook for another minute or two.



Divide and add the mixture to the four cooked peppers and place them in a baking dish (I used the 4 quart pyrex). Cover the dish with the lid or aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake for another few minutes, until slightly melted.



Variations:

Not a ground turkey fan? You can use lean ground beef instead.

If you want to make the dish vegetarian replace the meat with black, pinto or kidney beans, or textured soy protein crumbles

Other vegetables such as zucchini, yellow squash, shredded carrots can be added in place of mushrooms

Watching carbs? Leave out the rice and corn and add more veggies and you can cut the carbs in half.

If you are watching sodium omit the 1/4 teaspoon of salt and use low sodium canned tomatoes

Makes 4 stuffed peppers, four servings

Serving size: 1 stuffed pepper

Calories 220 Protein 16 g Carb 28 g Fiber 6 g Sugars 8 g Fat 6 g saturated fat 1.5 g Sodium 280 mg