Stuffed peppers!

For me, stuffed peppers are one of the ultimate comfort foods. Hearty, warm, and rarely found in restaurants, this classic is perfect for a cold winter night. Or if you’re in Los Angeles, maybe a slightly cooler than usual night.

At any rate, classic stuffed peppers usually involve a mixture of ground beef and white rice.  Not so diet-friendly, but that’s easy to solve. White rice is dumb. You heard me - stop eating dumb white rice.  It has no flavor and virtually no nutritional value.  If you absolutely HAVE to have rice (e.g. if you’re eating a spicy curry), make it brown rice.  But in the case of stuffed peppers, why do we even need rice?  It doesn’t add flavor, just filler. Let’s fill our bellies with delicious nutrients, not boring starch.  In my version, I promise that you won’t even miss the rice.



Low Carb Cheesy Stuffed Peppers

2 large red bell peppers (you can use green, but I like the sweetness of red peppers better)
olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
½ green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1.25 lb ground turkey
½ tsp grill seasoning (I like Montreal steak seasoning)
½ jar tomato pasta sauce (Classico Spicy Red Pepper)
1 ½ cups low fat Mexican blend shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Slice red peppers in half lengthwise to create 4 pepper boats.  Place pepper halves into a foil lined casserole dish. Bake in oven for 7 minutes, and remove.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a swirl of olive oil to the pan.  Once the pan and oil are hot, add the chopped green pepper, onion, celery and garlic. Once onions begin to get soft, remove this mixture from the pan.  Place pan back on heat and add a little bit more olive oil.  Add ground turkey to the hot pan, and season with grill seasoning.  Cook, stirring often, until meat is well browned. If there is any excess fat in the pan, drain off of the meat.  Add onions and peppers mix back to the meat. Stir in tomato sauce and simmer on low until sauce and mixture have thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Fill pepper boats with the meat/cheese/veggie mixture and bake for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, sprinkle remaining ½ cup of cheese onto peppers and bake for 5 more minutes.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving, and enjoy!