Stuffed Bell Peppers

While preparing this recipe, I realized the last time I stuffed bell peppers was when I was living back at home with my parents. It reminded me of when I actually started to love being in the kitchen, helping my mom make dinner, and sometimes being in charge of making dinner for the whole family. Stuffed bell peppers was one of the recipes I liked the most. It’s funny how making something as easy as stuffed bell peppers can bring back so many wonderful childhood memories.

I'm pretty sure this is not the same recipe I made when I was a teenager, but they were just as yummy as I remember with a few extra tasty ingredients in the filling.

Ingredients:
•5 large green bell peppers
•Mexican or Yellow rice (I just use the store bought kind in the packages)
•1 cup ground turkey
•1-6 ounce can of tomato paste
•1/2 medium white onion (about 1/2 cup), finely chopped
•3 garlic cloves, minced
•1 medium tomato, chopped
•1 cup of chicken broth
•1 teaspoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Optional fillings: black beans and corn also make a nice addition to the stuffing!!! You can also top with some shredded cheese the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Directions
Cook the rice according to the package directions. While rice is cooking, prepare the stuffing by chopping onion, one green bell pepper, tomato, and then mince garlic cloves. In a large skillet over a medium-high heat, drizzle pan with olive oil and toss in onions and garlic. Saute for about 2-3 minutes and then toss in ground turkey and cook until meat is done. Next, add chopped bell peppers, tomato, and tomato paste to cooked ground turkey and stir. Add salt and pepper, cover, and cook on low for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once rice is done, mix turkey mixture and cooked rice together in a large mixing bowl. The remaining 4 bell peppers can now be prepared for stuffing by slicing off the top of the bell pepper, then removing the stem and the seeds inside. Place bell peppers into a baking pan standing upright and generously fill bell peppers with stuffing. Once stuffed, pour 1/4 cup of chicken broth over bell peppers and place into oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
And now...Enjoy!