Recently, a good friend told me that she found a recipe for Southwestern stuffed peppers. The whole idea intrigued me. However, I did not have a recipe to make them. So, this is my adaptation and my ideas of what should go into a recipe of this sort. By the way, this is a healthy dinner because I am using ground turkey and reduced fat cheese. If you are not a fan of ground turkey, beef can easily be substituted for this delicious recipe.
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey or beef (85% lean)
1 egg
1.25 oz. packet of your favorite taco seasoning
1 c. cooked rice (I used prepared, microwaveable rice)
1 c. black beans, rinsed in cold water and drained
1 c. corn (can be frozen, canned or fresh)
½ medium onion, diced small
3-4 bell peppers (I prefer red, orange or yellow, which are less bitter than green)
½ c. your favorite salsa (plus 1 T. per pepper for finishing)
2 c. your favorite Mexican cheese (separate into two 1 c. portions)
Rinse and dry bell peppers. In a bowl, add turkey (or beef), the egg, taco seasoning, cooked rice, beans, corn, diced onion, 1 c. shredded cheese and ½ c. salsa.
Stir lightly with a fork, being careful not to mash the beans. Combine until all ingredients are incorporated.
Prepare peppers by removing most of the stems. Cut peppers in half with a paring knife and remove seeds and any membrane. Stuff each pepper with a generous portion of the meat mixture. If doing three medium sized peppers, you should be able to use the entire mixture to make six halves, as shown in the picture.
Place the peppers in a greased baking dish. Pour 1 T. salsa and sprinkle cheese over each pepper.
Bake uncovered at 350º for 45 - 60 minutes. You should be able to see that the meat is cooked. 10 minutes prior to serving, remove from oven and sprinkle more cheese over each pepper, then return to oven. Once the cheese has melted completely over each pepper, they are ready to serve.
Suggestions: Serve peppers with tortilla chips and sour cream.
