ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey; white meat is lower fat, but use mixed light/dark turkey if you prefer
• 6 medium peppers: 2 each, red/yellow/green
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup celery, very finely diced
• 1/2 cup parsley, finely diced
• 1/2 cup finely diced carrots
• 1 tbs tomato paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp, each — salt, pepper
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tbs water chestnuts, very finely diced
• 2 tbs sun dried tomatoes, very finely diced
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 2-3 tbs olive oil

cooking instructions

• Heat olive oil in heavy bottomed skillet (over medium heat)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Saute the onions, celery and carrots for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent
• Add ground turkey, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, water chestnuts, garlic paste and sun dried tomatoes; cook turkey through and lower heat — leave mixture on the flame for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to develop
• Carefully incorporate bread crumbs
• Prep the peppers: rinse thoroughly, slice the tops so that you can remove them whole; remove seeds and the white pith inside the peppers
• Spray a 9×12 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray
• Remove the turkey mixture from the heat
• Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and put the tops of the peppers back on (like a cap)
• Place the peppers in the greased casserole dish
• Bake for about 30 minutes until the peppers are fork tender

Variations: If you like, sprinkle cheese on the meat mixture before putting the “cap” on each pepper.