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Stuffed Peppers

This family-friendly recipe for stuffed peppers takes a bit to cook, but you can prep them in just 20 minutes, and they’re only about 300 calories!

Stuffed Peppers | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #peppers

My daughter Eden started learning how to read at the end of the school year last year when she was in Kindergarten. I always question myself during the school year – if I’m doing a good enough job teaching, and will they ever grasp the concept of reading. I did it with Grace, and I did with Eden…and I’m sure I’ll do it with Christian, too.

Eden is many things. She is a vibrant little girl who just shines. She wakes up completely gorgeous every morning, has her own stylish and unique way of dressing, lives in a world of stuffed animals and My Little Ponies and while she acts like she’s got her head in the clouds, she will surprise you with her brilliance. She is a pretty confident kid. Unless she is reading. 

Stuffed Peppers | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #peppers

Trying to get her to read last year outside of the school room was like pulling teeth. I encouraged her, commended her, and offered to work with her, but she did not want to read unless it was during her school time. Oh, she loves books and loves to be read to, but reading was something I felt she just lacked confidence for.

Stuffed Peppers | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #peppers

I planned on working with her over the summer, but every time I mentioned it, she said no, and that she wanted to wait until the school year. In fact, of her own accord, she promised that when school started up again, she would read more. So I left her alone. I still continued to offer to help her read one of her “reader” books, but she always turned me down.

Stuffed Peppers | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #peppers

I’m the type of mom who will push her kids to do a bit more if I feel they can handle it. With this, however, I didn’t feel right about pushing Eden to read until she was ready. Reading is such a beloved hobby in our home. Grace will spend hours with her nose buried in a book, Josh has piles of books that he wants to read everywhere, and I’ve got my own stack. I really wanted Eden to discover that same love for books without feeling pressure.

And I think she finally has. She has been doing so well in her school books and all I try to do is constantly boost her confidence in this area. I think she is just scared she will not remember the words, and I think she doubts that she can really do it.

Yesterday morning, Josh stayed home with the kids so I could go to a doctor’s appointment in the morning, and when I came home he said how impressed he was with her reading level. So, I encouraged her to go get a Dr. Seuss type of book…and she read Go, Dog, Go all by herself! That’s a 60-plus page book! When she finished she hugged the book close to her chest and she just seemed so content and full of confidence.

It was one of those moments as a mom. You know the ones. Where you work so hard to teach them how to do something and then they do it and get so good at it! I’m in awe of my kids, I tell you. They amaze me.

Stuffed Peppers | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #peppers

Obviously, Eden’s reading has nothing to do with this recipe. And that’s okay. I happen to love a classic stuffed pepper. There are so many different varieties out there on Pinterest nowadays, but I just love the straight up Italian version. The melted cheese, seasoned rice, and spiced meat just tastes like pure comfort food. I love comfort food. My kids loved that you could eat the entire pepper. This is also a relatively easy meal to prepare. I made the meat mixture and stuffed the peppers ahead of time and then threw it all in the oven before I left for the gym. Dinner was just about ready by the time I got back, and paired with a salad it makes a perfect dinner. As written, this recipe is gentle and subtle in flavor – perfect for a family with small children. If you have more adventurous or older children, or perhaps non at all, you may want to spice it up a bit!

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

This family-friendly recipe for stuffed peppers takes a bit to cook, but you can prep them in just 20 minutes, and they're only about 300 calories!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground turkey breast
  • 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 red bell peppers
  • 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 of an onion, diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place the rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil into a skillet over medium heat and lightly saute the garlic and onions for 2-3 minutes. Add the ground turkey and cook until browned.
  3. When the meat has browned, add cooked rice, one can of the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, thyme, paprika. Mix together and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Remove the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing up.
  5. Spoon the meat mixture equally into each pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Italian seasoning and over over the stuffed peppers.
  6. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 1 hour. After the hour, remove the baking dish from the oven and take the foil off. Turn the oven onto broil and evenly distribute the cheese over each top of the stuffed pepper. Broil the peppers for 3-5 minutes. Just long enough to brown the cheese. Remove and top with chopped parsley.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 255Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 274mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 28g

Shannon

Thursday 2nd of September 2021

The link is dead and only goes to the comments, even when I search on your website. Help!

Joshua Rief

Thursday 2nd of September 2021

Hi, Shannon - we see this, too! This is some kind of cacheing issue we've been working with our publisher to try to fix for the last two or three days. Most of the pages seem to be working fine again, but some are still only showing comments - really frustrating! Will see if we can email you the recipe directly in the meantime.

Kaitlyn

Tuesday 31st of August 2021

Loved the recipe

Connie

Tuesday 10th of November 2020

I love the recipes but hate how hard it is to get directions. I don’t need the dialogue first

Joshua Rief

Tuesday 10th of November 2020

Hi, Connie - thanks for the feedback! We added a new "Jump to Recipe" button to the top of the posts for just this reason. If you click this button, it will scroll right past the body of the post and drop you down to the recipe directly. Hope that helps!

Sally Farley

Saturday 25th of July 2020

To help kids learn to enjoy reading, ck out READ (Reading Education Assistance Dogs). This is an international program through libraries and schools. I have 3 certified READ dogs here in Texas and work with 3 3rd graders that come in to a quiet room in the school and read individually to one of my dogs for 30 minutes every week of the school year. These children have been selected by their teacher and do not read on their grade level. The dog helps with confidence b/c they don’t laugh or anything. By petting the dogs, the student reduces anxiety (petting a dog reduces blood pressure). Lt..ook into the program, or, if you have a dog have it lay down and stay and let Eden read to them. Feel free to email me if you want...

Chelsia Rief

Monday 27th of July 2020

Hi Sally, This is extremely interesting and I certainly appreciate this idea and tips. At the time of this post, Eden was struggling a bit, but now she is almost 12 years old and has an appetite for reading that cannot be quenched! :) I will keep this in mind though because I still do have two younger kiddos who may benefit from this tip in the future. :)

Becky

Thursday 9th of April 2020

Can you freeze these?

Chelsia Rief

Thursday 9th of April 2020

Yes, you can. Cook the peppers according to the recipe and make sure it's cooled before you freeze it. Place the peppers in a freezer safe dish and cover with foil and then plastic wrap. You should be able to take them from freezer to oven and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through, or you can thaw them in the fridge for a few hours before cooking them. Hope that helps.

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