I’m always looking for new recipes to make that are easy for me to plan into my food journal for the day, and this one was definitely a winner! I actually prepped it over my lunch break (you could also do the night before) so that my husband could throw it in the oven when he got home and dinner was ready when I walked in the door just before 6pm. Those nights always go so much smoother as a family when we aren’t stressed about cooking the instant we walk into the house. I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

Stuffed Bell Peppers – 21 Day Fix Approved

Calories: about 200 per stuffed pepper

• 4 bell peppers (color of your choice)
• ½ pound lean ground turkey or ground beef
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 green container (about 1 cup) onions, chopped
• 2 yellow containers (about 1 cup) cooked brown rice
• 2 blue containers shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tsp each ground cumin, paprika, black pepper, italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp hot sauce (Cholula)
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes if you like a little heat!

1. Cook rice according to package instructions
2. Meanwhile, start a large pot of water to boil, and in a medium skillet with a little EVOO, saute onion and garlic until tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. In same skillet, brown ground turkey or beef.
4. While that is browning, chop the tops off of the bell peppers and drop them into the pot of boiling water.
5. Boil peppers for 5 minutes and remove, setting upside down to drain.
6. Open can of tomatoes – pour the juice into the bottom of a small baking dish, and put the tomatoes into a large mixing bowl.
7. In that same bowl, combine ground turkey, sauteed onions and garlic, half the cheese, rice, diced tomatoes, seasonings & hot sauce.
8. Put peppers into baking dish with tomato juice on the bottom and fill each pepper with 1/4 of the mixture. Top with remaining cheese.
9. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes

I was wanting a light dinner last night because I had been snacking all day, so one pepper at just 200 calories was fine for me and my kids split one pepper, and my husband ate the remaining two and totally raved about them. 🙂 You could also serve with a side dish if you want to increase the heartiness of the meal as well.

Enjoy!