Southwest Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers

Growing up, I looked forward to opportunities to help Mom in the kitchen, and that hasn't changed. A few years ago, Mom and I tried a recipe for stuffed bell peppers. It was delicious!

Recently, I had a craving...

This time, though, I decided to cut the bell peppers in half.

We found that when the bell pepper was used whole (like a bowl), a lot of residual moisture gathered at the bottom and then leaked out when eating, making it a little messy and almost requiring a bowl instead of a plate.

So, after looking around at a few recipes, I pieced together this one, and it worked great!

Southwest Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:

• 5 bell peppers, halved and seeded
• 1 can Southwest Corn with Poblano and Red Peppers, drained (alternately, you can use 1 can corn and 1 can diced chiles)
• 1 can low-sodium black beans, drained
• 3 chicken breasts, shredded (I like to put the chicken in the crockpot on low for 6 hours - it shreds really well!)
• 1 16-oz jar salsa
• Mexican cheese blend, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix canned ingredients (drained), chicken, and salsa in a medium-sized bowl.
3. Place pepper halves cut side up in a glass baking dish. Stuff each half with the chicken mixture.
4. Add about 1/4" of water to the bottom of the glass dish.
5. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Uncover the baking dish and sprinkle cheese on top of the pepper halves. Bake 10 more minutes uncovered.
7. Let peppers cool 5 minutes before serving.

Trading the Traditional Turkey Taco

It's time for turkey!

I eat turkey all throughout the year, but it's fun to find new ways to highlight it in the fall when it's the first protein that comes to mind for many meals. I found a recipe recently that I forwarded to Mom, and we decided it was time to schedule a cooking date!

These turkey taco lettuce wraps are delicious! There are a ton of spices that really boost the flavor (for those of you meat-lovers who may not be as keen on this lean protein), and the tomato sauce keeps it moist. I give this dish a thumbs up for flavor and a thumb lick for it's somewhat messy but very fun presentation.

Here are some pics and the recipe I tweaked:

Ingredients: 

• 1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey 
• 1 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp chili powder 
• 1 tsp paprika 
• ½ tsp oregano 
• 2 bell peppers, diced (red and green add a little color) 
• ¾ cup water 
• 4 oz can tomato sauce 
• 8 large lettuce leaves from Iceberg lettuce 
• Optional toppings: cheese, tomatoes, sour cream 

Directions:

1. Brown turkey in a large skillet. 
2. Add dry seasonings to turkey and mix well. 
3. Add pepper, water, and tomato sauce and cover. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Take the lid off and simmer until liquid has evaporated. 
4. Wash and dry the lettuce. Place meat in the center of lettuce leaves and add optional toppings, if desired.

Original recipe