Stuffed Peppers 3 Ways on Mom's fruit plates...

Whew what a crazy couple of days. I think we finally got a handle on the ant invasion. Lily seems to be going through a growth spurt so i have pulled out some new fun clothes...like her cat outfit! Doesn't she look purrrfect...

 Oh but not perfect....It turns out Lily has been out of diapers for 3 days at daycare!! Nick was picking her up and didn't realize that "more diapers" was checked on her daily activity sheet. By the time I saw it they were circling it 3 times and added "please!!!". I was so embarrassed that I almost called the daycare at 6pm when I got home just to apologize. 

Here is how she felt about that...

oh AND i started a blog...i am crazy but I am used to being busy and I am really enjoying this so I am not going to stop. The cheesy bacon/healthy low carb, singing, mommy cook will continue to share recipes and stories so here is another....

As promised I am sharing my stuffed peppers recipes. I learned how to make stuffed peppers back in high school and never understood why they had rice in them and why they were so boring...or at least why the basic recipe I found was so boring. Since then I have been experimenting making them all different ways. 

Tonight I made them in a Mexican style but I also plan to share an Italian Sausage version and a Greek inspired version...all made with ground turkey! 

So the main ingredients you need to make stuffed peppers in my house are:

2 packs of ground Turkey

4 Large bell peppers

and from there you can create so many different versions of this dish depending on the spices and sauces you add.

Mexican Style Stuffed Peppers by Karissa

2 packs ground turkey

4 large bell peppers-green 

1/2 cup finely chopped white onion

1 t oregano

1T garlic powder

1 packet of taco seasoning (tonight i used a chipotle one from wegmans-it had raisins in it and that was awesome)

1 t cumin

1 t chili powder

1 1/2 cups grated Monterrey jack or a Mexican blend from any grocery store

Juice from 1/2 a lime

First preheat oven to 400 degrees. Then line a small baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place 4 cleaned bell peppers in the pan with the tops chopped off and all seeds and insides hollowed out.

Next mix all dry spices in a large bowl. Add uncooked ground turkey and mix. Add cheese and lime and mix again. Stuff peppers with turkey mixture. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 mins. 

After 30 mins, pull peppers out and spoon enchilada sauce (recipe below) on top of each pepper. Put back in oven uncovered for another 30 mins. Check temp of meat before you eat. The meat inside these dang peppers can take forever to cook sometimes! 

While the peppers are cooking you can whip up my enchilada sauce and spanish rice. **note that I have never read a recipe for how to make these things so if I am breaking some latin traditions, I apologize. I just made these up one day. 

Enchilada Sauce

1 1/2 T tomato paste

1 can tomato sauce

1 T oregano 

2 T chili powder

2 T cumin

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t salt

1 T garlic powder

2/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend or Monterrey jack

In a small pot take tomato paste and oregano and cook on med high until paste gets brick red and nice and hot. Next add tomato sauce and all spices. Stir and cook on med for 10 min. After that add cheese and turn down to med low and keep warm until peppers are done. stir often. taste test and add more spices and/or a little red pepper if you want a kick. 

Spanish Rice

1 Cup rice

water

salt 

cumin

chili powder

garlic powder

2 T butter or margarine

juice from 1/2 a lime

1 can diced tomato (hunts fire roasted with garlic is great)

1/2 cup cooked chopped onion

So make rice according to instructions on box or bag. I do not use minute rice. 

My rice says to boil 1 1/2 cups water and add 1 cup rice, stir, and simmer covered for 20 mins.

So I add water to the pot and also add salt, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder. I probably used a 1/2 T of each. Once the water boiled I added rice and cooked for 10 mins. At that point I added butter and a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. While that was cooking I quickly sauteed some chopped onion and added that  once the onion is soft. I cook all this another 10 mins or so on med low, stirring often. I probably added more spices as I cooked and then juice from 1/2 a lime once it was done. 

Once everything is done cooking, I stab the bottom of the peppers with a knife while still in the pan to let some of the juice out, otherwise things can get a little crazy on your plate. 

I plate the pepper by cutting it in half or I guess you call it, filleting it, covering it with more sauce and cheese. Then I plate the rice and top with some cheese as well. Hopefully everything is still nice and hot and the cheese melts.

Enjoy!

OK this post was long and its 9:45 so I will share part II tomorrow and let you know how I do the peppers two other ways. AND these are all probably better with bacon....