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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

January 17, 2012: Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

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Last year I shared a Spicy Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe with you. This year, when I’m concerned with calories, I decided to redo that recipe and make it healthier. Here’s what I came up with which, by the way, my husband loved (and he’s not counting calories!).

Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers

½ cup brown rice
4 medium-sized green bell peppers
1 pound ground chicken breast
1 T. red bell pepper, minced
1 clove garlic, minced (divided)
2 green onions, minced (divided)
1 ½ T. green chile, minced (divided)
1/3 cup canned corn, drained
½ t. each: oregano, garlic salt, paprika, dried parsley, black pepper, dried cilantro and cumin powder
1 can condensed cheese soup (divided)
¼ cup fat free half and half

In a saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups water to boil. Add half cup brown rice. Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove the cap of the green peppers and clean out seeds and membranes inside. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each, if necessary, to make them stand up straight (good posture for peppers, ha!). Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and stand peppers within.

In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, cook ground chicken over medium heat. Add red bell pepper, half of the minced garlic, the white parts of the green onion, and half of the green chile. Sauté for another two minutes, until veggies are soft. Add corn, rice, seasonings and ¼ cup of the cheese soup. The rice should have a small amount of unabsorbed water in the bottom of the pan; if not add a tablespoon of water to mixture to chicken mixture to thin it a bit.

Stuff each pepper with one quarter of the chicken/rice mixture. Cover the baking pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour, until bell peppers are soft.

While the peppers are cooking, mix together remaining cheese soup, reserved vegetables and half and half. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until heated through.

To serve, place one pepper on a plate and spoon a quarter of the warm cheese sauce over the top. Goes great with a hot bowl of soup or a crisp, fresh green salad.

Serves 4 with 349 calories, 11 grams of fat and 761.5 mg of sodium each serving.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, you are killing me! I want some so much! But no one in the house likes peppers! :(

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  2. Tami, my husband isn't a big green bell pepper fan either but he'll eat them stuffed (go figure). When I made these I used extra large peppers and he left half on the plate but at least he got most of the nutrition from the pepper. You might want to try a milder red or yellow pepper, too (if you can get your family past their mental hangups).

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