Turkey & Brown Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers

One of Jason's favorite vegetables is bell peppers and we both enjoy ground turkey as a healthy substitute. I have been seeing a lot of recipes for stuffed peppers and finally made them the other night. Naturally I wanted to cut the top off the peppers and stuff them that way, but most recipes have you cutting them in half lengthwise. My only comment is that unless it is a really large pepper this makes it difficult to stuff and transfer from the pan once cooked as the pepper becomes soft. Either way, the still tasted delicious. It is a pretty presentation and had our vegetable, grain and protein all inside. You can add some diced vegetables to the stuffing or substitute a quinoa instead of brown rice if you prefer that. 

Turkey & Brown Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers
Slightly adapted from: Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian
Servings: 4 (2 stuffed halves)

Ingredients:
4 Large Bell Peppers
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 cups tomato-basil pasta sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup low fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 (8.8oz) packages pre-cooked brown rice
1lb ground turkey
Cilantro

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise, discard the seeds adn membranes, leaving stems intact. Place pepper halves cut sides down on a large microwave safe plate so moisture can drain. Cover with wax paper and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Place pepper halves cutsides up on a jelly roll pan lined with aluminum foil.

3. While pepper halves cook, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno and cilantro to pan; saute 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Add in ground turkey and cook until browned.

4. Combine mixture with 1 cup pasta sauce, 1/4 cup cheese, rice and black pepper. Spoon mixture into pepper halves. Top with remaining pasta sauce.

5.  Cover and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake an additional 3 minutes or until cheese melts.