School is back in session, which means that I need to be more organized about weekday dinners. I need to make dishes that are fast and delicious, and make enough so that there will be leftovers for lunches and after school snacks. Hello Turkey-stuffed Bell Peppers.
There are a few ways to make stuffed bell peppers. This version is Italian-style and focuses on flavors you would find in a spaghetti dinner. Except there is no spaghetti…just cooked rice mixed in with the meat. You start there, cooking the rice first.
While that is cooking, brown the turkey meat. I get my meat at Costco, so the packaging is much bigger…about 1. 5 lbs of meat (or more) per package. So naturally there is going to be more stuffing. To the meat, combine some spices, and then set aside. When the rice is finished, combine the rice with the meat, add diced tomatoes and sliced olives, and a bit of marinara sauce to bind it all. Then, prepare the peppers by removing the tops, middle and all seeds.
Ready to stuff!
Add some marinara to the casserole dish when finished with stuffing the peppers. This will allow the peppers to cook in the sauce. You can make the sauce thin or thick, but I prefer adding a little water to make it thinner. I also used my Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce, but a jar of marina will work, too.
Then, top off each pepper with mozzarella cheese, as much or as little to your liking. I buy mozzarella cheese pre-shredded in a large package, and end up using about 1/2 cup per stuffed pepper. Cover with foil, and pop it in the oven for about 50 minutes or until the peppers are the consistency you like and the cheese is melty.
Top with some fresh basil, and you’re ready to enjoy a delicious dinner.
This recipe makes a big batch–about nine stuffed peppers–because I use more than a pound of ground meat, and three cups of rice. You can scale down, but I wouldn’t. Freeze the extras for a separate meal, or make a big batch to have left overs for lunch. That’s what I did, and as delicious as the dinner was, it was even better as leftovers with extra American cheese melted on top.
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Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1.5 lb of ground turkey
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 3.8 oz can black olives, sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 9 medium red bell peppers
- 2 cups mom's spaghetti sauce or 1 jar
- 4 cups water or to consistency
- 5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese about 1/2 cup per each pepper
- basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare the rice first. Rinse 1 cup of brown rice; place in a rice cooker. Add 2 cups of water, and turn on to cook. (Will result in 3 cups of cooked rice.)
- Meanwhile, in a heated skillet, add a bit of olive oil and saute the onion until it is translucent.
- Add the garlic and sautee for two minutes more.
- Add the ground turkey and brown together.
- Add spices and stir to combine. Turn off heat and set aside until rice is finished.
- When rice is finished, in a big bowl combine meat mixture, can of diced tomatoes, rice (there should be three cups), olives, and a bit of salt (optional).
- Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove stems and seeds.
- Prepare the baking pans. You'll probably need two in order to accommodate all the peppers. I used a 9x13 casserole dish and an 8x8 baking pan. To these pans, add the spaghetti sauce and a little bit of the water until the consistency is thinner and to your liking.
- Place the peppers into the dish and stuff them with the meat mixture.
- Top each pepper evenly with the cheese.
- Cover with foil. Be sure to tent it so the foil doesn't stick to the cheese, and bake for 50 minutes.
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