My family just loves these stuffed peppers, and they have lots of healthy ingredients in them. I like to use red, yellow and orange sweet bell peppers. They make for a beautiful, colorful dish and they just taste so good. I know most people cut the tops off their peppers, and stuff them so they are standing upright. However, I just like to cut my peppers in half and stuff them like they are little boats. When I made this last week for dinner, I used 6 big peppers and baked them in a 13×9 pan. This recipe makes a lot of filling, so I just spooned the extra filling all over the pan and baked it with the stuffed peppers. (I ate the extra stuffing for lunch. Mmmm Good!) You could probably stuff 8 peppers with this. I know you will love this tasty meal. Try it and let me know what you think.

INGREDIENTS

1 (28-ounce) can seasoned diced tomatoes

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 large handfuls fresh spinach, torn

1 ½ pound ground turkey cooked and drained

16 ounce pkg. orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta)

6 – 8 large sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, orange)

8 ounce pkg. shredded Italian 4-Cheese Blend (Kraft or other brand found in the refrigerated section.)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Remove the stems from the peppers; slice them in half and remove all ribs and seeds; wash them and set them aside.

Cook and drain the ground turkey and set aside.

Sauté the garlic and the spinach in the olive oil; set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the orzo as directed on the pkg. I suggest reducing the recommended al dente cooking time by 2 minutes or so since it will be cooking during the baking time. Drain.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the diced tomatoes and their juice, the sautéed spinach and garlic, the partially cooked orzo, the cooked turkey and the pkg. of shredded cheese. Mix thoroughly.

Spray a 13X9 baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the peppers in the pan (like little boats) and stuff them with the filling. Spoon any additional filling over and around the peppers.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for approximately 45mins. (Check to see that the peppers are cooked to your desire – not too crunchy, not too soft and adjust cooking time if necessary.)

Serve and Enjoy!