Stuffed Bell Peppers

This recipe is for one of my ultimate comfort foods of my youth – stuffed bell peppers. Now of course back in the day it was packed with fat and calories. This however, is a delicious twist that is loaded with healthy alternatives. Not only do the red bell peppers made this version colorful but how can you possibly go wrong quinoa and spinach!

I liked the addition of the spinach as that helped keep the quinoa moist. And for the seasoning in the ground turkey I decided to use one of our new spice blends – Fajita Seasoning. This gave it a subtle Tex-Mex flavor without any of the heat that I normally crave.

This stuffed bell pepper is packed with power foods but you can also make variations of this without the ground turkey (for a vegetarian treat), uses different beans, grains and vegetables. I also used whole peppers instead of cutting them in half (I just liked the way that they looked).

One of the other tricks that I used on these was that I did not blanch the peppers before cooking them in the oven. I think that blanching them makes them a bit soggy and I love the slight crispness of the pepper.

What You’ll Need

• 6 oz. of Ground Turkey (I used 93% for this meal)
• ½ Cup of Dry Quinoa
• 2 Sweet Red Bell Peppers
• 1 Tsp Olive Oil
• ¼ Cup Frozen Peas
• ¼ Chopped Yellow Onion
• 1 Cup Organic Baby Spinach
• 1 Cup of Canned Red Kidney Beans
• 3 Tbsp Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese

What to Do

1. Preheat the oven to 375°
2. Cook the quinoa according to package instructions
3. Chop onions
4. Add the olive oil to your skillet and heat on medium high for about 30 seconds and then add onions and sauté until soft (about 3-5 minutes)
5. Add ground turkey and Fajita Seasoning to the sautéed onions and cook until no longer pink (about 5 minutes)
6. Wash and rinse beans and chop the spinach
7. Once the turkey is cooked add spinach, beans and peas and stir frequently until the spinach is cooked and reduced in size
8. Add your quinoa to this mixture, cover and turn down to low (for about 3 minutes)
9. Cut the tops off of your bell peppers and place them in upright in a baking dish
10. Stuff the mixture into the peppers and then place in the oven for 15 minutes
11. Remove the peppers from the oven and top them with the mozzarella cheese and then place back in the oven for 3 more minutes
12. Remove and serve

Serves 2

Nutritional Information (per serving)

What are some of your favorite comfort foods that you’ve modified and made healthier?

Tagged as: comfort food, fajita seasoning, quinoa