Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Turkey and Wild Rice

I love these stuffed pepper! It's a great and tasty way to use a package of lean ground turkey. Anything stuffed into a bell pepper is just good. My favorite bell peppers are the orange ones. I like the subtle sweet flavor they have once they're baked. If you want to make this recipe super healthy, just leave out the cheese. Either way, this a great meal for any night of the week.

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Turkey and Wild Rice

1 box brown and wild rice mix, cooked with herb packet

6 large bell peppers

   Tomato sauce - enough to cover the bottom of a casserole dish

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cup chopped onion 

1/2 bell pepper, diced

1 lb 93% lean ground turkey

3 garlic cloves

7 mushrooms, finely diced

   Pinch crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon oregano 

1 teaspoon basil

1 can diced tomatoes 

   Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 cup Parmesan

   Shredded mozzarella for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Blanch for 3 minutes. Pat dry and place in a casserole dish - the bottom of the dish should be covered with a thin layer of tomato sauce.

In a pan, add olive oil and saute the onions and 1/2 chopped bell pepper until soft (5-7 minutes). Add minced garlic and mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ground turkey and spices and cook until the turkey is no longer pink.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked ground turkey, cooked wild rice, diced tomatoes and Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scoop mixture into each bell pepper half. Top with a scoop of tomato sauce and grated mozzarella cheese.

Bake, loosely covered, for 30 minutes. 

Refrigerator Soup

For this soup, I rummaged around my refrigerator and was determined to use up all of our leftover food and items that would soon be expiring. We had an un-opened package of turkey that was good for a few more days...so I centered my dish around that. We also had celery, frozen broccoli and corn. And in the pantry, we had cans of white beans, tomatoes, chicken stock and a box of wild rice. So, I decided to make a wild rice and turkey soup...

Here are all the spices I threw in it.

This actually turned out amazing! It was like minestrone soup on steroids. Super flavorful and really hearty. Loved the combination of veggies, rice, turkey and spices. My husband and I chowed down on this and even our 10 month old and 4 year old ate their fair share.

Below is a guideline of what I did. Take a peek in the back of your refrigerator and pantry and use what you have.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup (/stew)

1 pkg. ground turkey

1/2 tsp cumin

pinch of red pepper flakes

pinch of salt

***

1 box Near East, Long Grain and Wild Rice (use seasoning packet too)*

1 (14.5) can chicken broth

1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (14 oz) can white beans

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 small onion, chopped small

1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli

3 celery ribs, diced

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp dried Italian herb blend

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried chives

1/2 tsp ground beef bouillon

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a pan, brown turkey with cumin, red pepper and salt. Cook until turkey is no longer pink.

In a soup pot add the rest of the ingredients* and stir to combine. Add in turkey mixture and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Taste and season as necessary.

* I cooked my rice in a rice cooker until al dente and then added it. If you want to just add the rice and seasoning packet with the rest of the ingredients and save a dirty pot, add 2 cups of water to the soup.

Turkey Meatloaf w/ Red WIne Sauce

I was a little skeptical of this 'diet friendly' recipe, but I was definitely proven wrong. It called for oatmeal as a binder which I had seen before. I thought the oatmeal would make it dry and chalky, but it  didn't! And you can't even tell it's in there. Even though this dish is super healthy and uses lean ground turkey, it doesn't lack in flavor. A mix of herbs and fresh garlic, plus a robust red wine tomato sauce gives this meatloaf a great taste. Shredded zucchini helps with the moistness and egg whites make for a light texture.

If you're looking for a healthy and tasty dish to make with lean ground turkey, try this meatloaf, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.


Turkey Meatloaf with Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients:
1 can (6 ounces) no-salt-added tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound ground turkey breast (98% Fat Free)
1 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup liquid egg substitute or 2 egg whites
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the tomato paste, red wine, water, garlic, basil, oregano, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Set aside.

Combine the turkey, oatmeal, egg substitute, zucchini, and 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture in a large bowl. Mix well.

Shape into a meat loaf, and place in an ungreased 8- x 4-inch loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Discard any drippings. Pour 1/2 cup of the remaining tomato mixture over the top of the loaf. Bake for 15 minutes longer. Remove to a serving platter. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve the remaining tomato sauce on the side.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe Source: South Beach Diet

The Cost of Tom Turkey

And so it begins......

My husband and I volunteered to host Thanksgiving at our house this year. We have never cooked a turkey or hosted Thanksgiving, but we're excited and I've been doing plenty of research. We're having 25 lovely guests over (22 Adults - 2 kids - 1 baby) and we're in charge of making a delectable bird. And as far as turkey goes, it's 1 - 1.5 lbs of turkey per person. So we'll need a whopping 33 lbs of turkey (factoring in just the adults)! We'll be deep frying one 10-12 lb bird and baking one 22-24 lb bird.

I've been pricing turkeys at grocery stores by my house and here's what our feathered friend costs.

Whole Foods (for natural, fresh turkeys)

10 - 12 lb = $23.88

22 - 24 lb = $47.76

Total: $71.64

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Dan's Market

Frozen: .99cents per lb

Fresh

Basted: $1.29 per lb

Natural: $1.79 per lb

Organic: $ 1.79 per lb

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Albertsons

Frozen

Butterball: $1.15

Norbest: $1.19

Fresh

Natural: $1.69

Special: Buy $25 worth of groceries and get any frozen turkey for .38 cents per lb

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Costco

Fresh .88 cents per lb

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Liberty Heights Fresh

Fresh Plain: $2.59 per lb

Fresh Brined: $5.99 per lb

Quick Healthy Dinner

The other night for dinner, I didn't have many ingredients on hand nor a lot time to make something, so I threw together these yummy turkey burgers.

We had one package of ground, lean turkey, so I seasoned it with some Italian spices, ground coriander, salt and pepper and formed the turkey into patties. I grilled the turkey burgers on our indoor grill pan and served it open-face style on a piece of toasted wheat bread and topped it with lettuce, tomato, avocado and mustard. It was really good and quick. Along side the burger I served cottage cheese and fresh slices of cucumber from my parents garden. Yum!

Amazing Chicken Taco Soup

I love soup and I have to say, this is one of my favorites. My friend Dana made a pot of it for an April Fool's Cooking Club at my mom's house and I think I had thirds. The flavor of the soup was amazing and the sour cream and crumbled bacon topping made it even better.

Recipe coming soon.

Here it is: Thanks Dana.

Adapted from Paula Deen

Dana’s Taco Soup

The recipe is simple and not always the same....
I usually use what I have at home.

Brown 1lb of ground beef in a soup pot (I use ground turkey). Add 1 can of corn, 1 can of beans (pinto, chili, kidney..use what you have). 1 can tomatoes (chili ready, del monte diced zesty...again whatever you like) the above cans are usually about 14.5 oz sizes if you like it spicy, add one can rotel tomatoes and green chiles let this come to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, then add 1 package hidden valley ranch dressing mix and 1 package taco seasoning and let cook for about 5 to ten more minutes.

Top off with things like sour cream, chives, cheese, corn chips, tortilla chips, bits of bacon, whatever floats your boat.

*Do not drain the cans, use all of the liquid. If you like it to be more brothy you can add water or beef or chicken stock.

You can add more cans of anything or omit anything you do not like. I usually use two cans of almost everything because I have an army to feed. Play with it and see what you like. It is also usually better the next day reheated because the flavors have had more time to mix together.