I have a recipe that my sons literally devour and that I love, too. I got the recipe from a weight-loss friendly blog written by Michelle in California, called  The World According to Eggface.  She has many wonderful, creative recipes! So far, this recipe is my favorite.

The turkey-stuffed bell peppers include in the stuffing NO rice, so that’s a major difference from the usual stuffed peppers recipe. It does include, however, lots of veggies, goat cheese (I do have to call it by its French name, chevre, or my children wouldn’t touch it…seriously) and other delicious things. You can use any color bell peppers; I usually use a mix of colors, but this week green bell peppers were on sale for less than fifty cents apiece, so I will use only those this week.  I’ll include a picture here, though, of some I made previously.

I often have extra stuffing, so I have started filling Pam-sprayed muffin tin cups with the excess. I bake them alongside the peppers (for a shorter length of time, usually, as they’re smaller and I don’t want them to get hard) and store them in a ziplock bag in the fridge. Then, when I want a healthy snack, I just put one or two on a plate and reheat in the microwave.

I hope you’ll try these out with your excess summer vegetables, and let me know how you like them! They really are a great way to get lots of veggies and healthy protein into your family (and yourself), and they may just love it, like my guys do! 

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

3/4 pound Ground Turkey (I usually use a full pound)
3 peppers of any color, stems cut off, seeded, and then cut in half lengthwise
1 Zucchini, diced
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 small Eggplant, diced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
1 cup Marinara Sauce
2 oz. Goat Cheese (Chevre)
1/4 cup Shredded 4 Cheese Italian Blend (I always use the reduced-fat blends)
Olive Oil for sauteing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the peppers in a lightly oiled casserole dish; season with salt and bake for 20 minutes. Remove peppers, drain any water that has expelled from the peppers and set aside. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Saute onions, zucchini, & eggplant till golden and soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute more. Set aside.

Saute turkey until no pink is seen. Add turkey, tomato sauce and seasonings to veggies. Cook for 5 minutes until most of the liquid is reduced.

Off heat, add crumbled goat cheese. Mix to combine. Use an ice cream scoop to spoon mixture into partially cooked pepper halves

Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Depending on the size of your peppers you may have a little extra filling. If you do, place in muffin tins that you’ve sprayed with Pam, sprinkle cheese on it, and bake it alongside the peppers.

Enjoy! 🙂

By the way, here is a link to more zucchini recipes; some are sweet, some savory, and all look delicious. On My Plate