Healthy, Beautiful Greek Stuffed Peppers!

        Here's a dish that we enjoy at home, and it can be done up many, many ways, and as healthy as you want it!  I use 93/7 ground turkey and I leave out the "fillers" of rice or orzo.  When you buy turkey, any turkey, you do need to make sure you have good seasonings, as it can be bland, and some times some added fat.  I use a little of a good olive oil when needed.  I do buy the 93/7 ground beef occasionally, because it does taste very good!  As with the turkey, the addition of a little fat may be necessary for moisture.  One negative here, of course, is that the leaner meats are more expensive.  If you have space in your freezer (mine is limited), it is cheaper to buy these in bulk.

        This recipe is for four peppers, but I only had three on hand.  I had some goody leftover stuffing to have later.  I love to buy the pretty bright colored peppers, and I can't wait until the homegrown tomatoes start coming in.  They are good for stuffing, too!  Did I mention there are three cheeses in this recipe?  I buy the fat free Feta and low-fat mozzarella.  The parmesan on top came from Sam's in a big container, because you can use it on many, many things, such as sauces and vegetables!

        Enjoy!

Greek Stuffed Peppers!

INGREDIENTS:

4   3-oz. bell peppers, with flattest bottoms you can find (I only had three peppers on hand)
16 oz. ground turkey (or beef, or lamb)
2 oz. onion, finely chopped
1 Roma tomato, finely chopped
1 T. tomato paste
1/3 c. water
¼ c. red wine
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. dill weed (optional)
¼ tsp. crushed dried oregano
¼ c. parsley, chopped
½ c. feta
½ c. Monterrey Jack cheese
4 T. Parmesan (I used shredded, or sometimes the grated in the sprinkle bottles)  I also used extra, as you can tell in the photos.

DIRECTIONS:   To speed up the cooking process, boil the bell peppers for 4-5 minutes to soften before stuffing and baking, after you cut off the tops and clean out the inside.  Dice those pepper tops up to cook in the ground meat. Then preheat the oven to 350º. Brown the ground turkey in a non-stick skillet.  Add onion, diced bell pepper, garlic, tomato, tomato paste, wine and water.  Next add the parsley and spices.  Simmer about 10 minutes, stirring, until tomato and onion are fully tender and the liquid is evaporating. Add feta and Monterrey Jack cheese.  Stir to blend and melt.  Remove from heat.  Stuff the peppers and sprinkle the tops with the Parmesan cheese.  Pop in preheated 350º oven for 30-35 minutes or until pepper shells are tender.