Tasty Tuesdays: Stuffed Peppers

When trying to eat lighter, I find myself in a mad search for new recipes.  I want a recipe that uses fresh, healthy ingredients in a new and interesting way.  That can be hard to find sometimes.  My friend Christie recently sent me the link to a very helpful blog full of Weight Watcher friendly recipes.  For the last two weeks, Mark and I have been living off of this blog.  The blog author, Gina, has neatly categorized all of the recipes by course, main ingredient, and number of points contained.  It's so user friendly, and has inspired some great new dishes in our house. 

This Sunday, we tried Gina's great recipe for stuffed peppers.  I love the Southwestern flavors she called for, so I went with it and added an 1/8 of a teaspoon on chipotle chili powder.  It gave the dish a nice kick and a subtle smokiness that we both really liked.  I love to use cilantro in my cooking, but for those who might buy a bundle of it and aren't sure what to do with the leftovers, I have an easy cilantro lime rice recipe here.  Also, for those who might not like bell peppers, you could stuff tomatoes or zucchini and have a very similar result as the peppers.  To do this, clear out the seeds of either ingredient and pat dry.  Stuff in the same manner as described in the recipe below.

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 6 servings (1/2 pepper) • Time: 55 minutes • Points: 4.5 ww points
1 lb lean chopped turkey meat  (Very lean ground beef could be substituted)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 onion, minced (I used half an onion and less turkey figuring I'd bulk up the dish with veggies instead of meat).
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (I added a quarter cup of cilantro)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin powder
(1/8 chipotle chili powder)
salt to taste
3 large sweet red bell peppers, washed
1 cup fat free chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I left mine al dente so it would not become mushy when baking)
Olive oil spray
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheese

Heat oven to 400°. Spray a little olive oil spray in a medium size saute pan and heat on a medium flame. Add onion, garlic and cilantro to the pan. Saute about 2 minutes and add ground turkey. Season with salt and garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin and brown meat for several minutes until meat is completely cooked through. Add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Combine cooked rice and meat together.

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove all 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 stuffed pepper halves on the baking dish and pour the remainder of the chicken broth on the bottom of the pan. Cover tight with aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and enjoy.
 
I topped my peppers with cheese and chopped cilantro and returned then to the oven.  I turned on the broiler for about five minutes so that the cheese would melt and the pepper would brown slightly. 
 
See, dieting doesn't have to be boring.  Check out Gina's blog for more great recipe ideas!