Back to Healthy - Orzo Stuffed Peppers

 

We had a pretty quiet weekend around here, but I always feel the urge to be at home and relax in January, so the slow pace was fine with me. I did make a trip to East Lansing to take Melissa out for breakfast and bring her everything she forgot to take with her, when she went back to college, after break. Her things do tend to get spread around the house when she is home :-)

We are getting back into healthy eating, going to the gym and walking when the weather permits. I have made a meatless version of this recipe a couple times before, and it has a lot of great flavor and is different than the usual stuffed peppers, made with rice. Orzo pasta is easy and quick to prepare and the addition of zucchini, tomatoes and ground turkey, as well as the brightly colored peppers, make this a healthy, filling and pretty dish.

Recipe for Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Adapted from Giada's Kitchen

1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 zucchini, chopped fine

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups orzo pasta

1 pound ground turkey

6 -8 sweet bell peppers (red and yellow)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cook and brown the ground turkey, until just done. Drain on plate with paper towel.

Pour the tomatoes and their juice into a large bowl. Add the zucchini, cheese, olive oil, garlic, ground turkey, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the orzo and cook for 6 - 8 minutes until almost done. Drain and reserve the chicken broth. Add the orzo to the vegetable and turkey mixture and stir to combine. Transfer the chicken broth to a baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove seeds. If necessary cut a thin slice from the bottom, without cutting through. This will help the peppers stand up.

Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers and place in the baking dish, with the chicken broth. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle each pepper with a little grated parmesan cheese. Continue baking for 15 more minutes.

Happy Monday!

 

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