Turkey Stuffed Peppers

I found this recipe for turkey stuffed peppers on Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes and since I haven't had stuffed peppers since I was a little girl, I decided I  needed to try this recipe. Growing up, my Grandma (who is a phenomenal home cook) let us all pick out any meal we wanted and she would make it as a present for our birthday. I remember my mom requesting  stuffed peppers for her birthday meal one year. I think that is why I always think of stuffed peppers as being a special meal. They look impressive but are really easy to make. With the combination of the cooked rice and turkey, they are very filling and the peppers make this dish extremely flavorful. This recipe wasn't my husbands favorite dish, but I enjoyed them and kept enjoying them since they make 6 servings! Best off all is the nutritional value: each pepper is only 185 calories, 2.3 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbs, and 1.6 grams of fiber.

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1 lb lean turkey meat

1 garlic, minced

1/4 onion, minced

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro or parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

salt to taste

3 large bell peppers, washed 

1 cup fat free chicken broth

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Olive oil spray

1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheese

Optional: Sliced avocado and sour cream for topping

Directions

Heat over to 400 degrees. Spray a little olive oil in a medium sized saute pan and heat on a medium flame. Add onion, garlic, and cilantro to the pan. Saute for about 2 minutes and add ground turkey. Season with salt, garlic powder, and cumin and brown the meat for several minutes until completely cooked through. Add tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Add cooked rice and combine with meat.

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove all the seeds. Place in a baking dish. Spoon the meat mixture into each pepper half and fill it with as much as you can. 

Place all the stuffed pepper halves on the baking dish and pour the remainder of the chicken brown on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover tight with aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Top with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and avocado.