Chipotle Stuffed Peppers
Comfort foods have been in high demand at our house and these chipotle stuffed peppers have absolutely been in rotation a few times this past month. I’ve been exhausted balancing the kids school work with trying to maintain running our consulting business. Add in that we’re cooking more meals than usual with the kids home for lunches now full time due to distance learning so easy foods are a necessity. I must say though that this really has been a beneficial time to regroup and collect our thoughts on what’s truly important in our lives. Part of this learning has been to recognize which pieces of our lives we really want to return to “normal” after all of the stress and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic passes. I, for one, want to refocus on creating more recipes again. This past year was focused primarily on prioritizing our new consulting business and now that it’s under control and growing, I’m looking forward to business returning to normal and my cooking creativity being able to be cultivated once again.
I realize that chipotle stuffed peppers aren’t a massive creative effort, but these certainly aren’t the same stuffed peppers I had in my youth. Mouthwatering Spanish inspired flavors of paprika, garlic and onion, are blended with fire roasted tomatoes and chipotle peppers in adobo for a smokey spicy combo. I’ve upped the health factor in this panacea of comfort by incorporating riced cauliflower with the brown rice and using ground turkey for variety. You can totally use all riced cauliflower to keep it grain free or you use just rice as well. I personally love having a mix of each which also means that the kids don’t even notice that it’s cauliflower until I tell them after they’ve finished smacking their lips with empty plates. Chipotle stuffed peppers are easily customizable in the spice department as well and are full of flavor that even the pickiest eaters will enjoy!
- 6 bell peppers, any color, cut in half lengthwise and cored
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon smoked salt (optional to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- FOR THE CAULIFLOWER RICE BLEND:
- ½ cup brown rice, uncooked
- 1¼ cups riced cauliflower, uncooked (I use frozen riced cauliflower for ease)
- 1 (15 oz) can diced fire roasted tomatoes (like Muir Glen)
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced
- OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
- Shredded cheese
- pickled jalapenos
- chopped cilantro
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a saute pan, cook the turkey with the onion, garlic, 1 chipotle pepper, cumin and paprika until fully cooked.
- Place rice in a saucepan with the cauliflower, diced tomatoes and 1 chipotle chile. Simmer 20 minutes.
- Toss cauliflower rice blend with the cooked turkey to combine the filling.
- Scoop filling into each pepper half and place into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish or split into two smaller baking dishes.
- Extra filling can be spread on the bottom of the baking dish around the stuffed peppers.
- Top with cheese if desired and bake 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top with pickled jalapenos and chopped cilantro if desired.
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