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4
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Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Peppers |
Every so often a recipe comes along that’s good enough to save a marriage. It’s not only delicious. If it were that simple we’d be living in a 24/7 state of bliss. (Of course we are, no matter what’s for dinner.) It also needs to come at just the right time and fill in some sort of gaping hole.
In this case, the hole has been open for about three years. It was around then that I last made my Mexican-style stuffed peppers, and Ben has been asking for them ever since.
You won’t find the recipe for Mexican-style stuffed peppers on the blog, because its one of those things I used to throw together a little differently each time. For inexplicable reasons I just haven’t felt motivated to perfect the recipe and figure out what goes into my blog-worthy version. There are also about a zillion and one other recipes for Mexican stuffed peppers online. Call me a sore loser, because I’m not crazy about posting one when so many have beat me to it. That’s just another way of saying that I like the idea of coming up with something a little new and different to put out there for y’all.
You probably get it by now that the end of this post is not going to contain a recipe for Mexican stuffed peppers. Someday I’ll figure out what I can do differently to Mexican-style stuffed peppers to get excited enough to eat them again, and share them with you, of course. In the meantime, I got a craving for another kind of stuffed pepper. One stuffed with ground turkey, tangy artichokes, and creamy cottage cheese. Spicy marinara and sweet basil were in my newly imagined stuffed pepper too. I’m not really sure where this craving came from, but it sure sounded good. To avoid any potential disappointment, I decided not to google and see if someone else had it done it first. (Clearly a sign of my maturity level.)
Anyway, as I was saying, some of my recipes rise to marriage-saver status and this is one of them. Ben finally got his stuffed peppers, and he doesn’t have to listen to me whine this week about not having anything good enough for my “blob” (as he oh-so-affectionately calls it.) Those are both really good things in our book. And let me tell you: these peppers are really good, too. So good that we may have fought over the leftovers (darnit, I guess I’m due for another one of those really great recipes.)
Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Peppers
Printable Recipe
1/4 cup (40gm) bulgur
4 large red bell peppers
1/2 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 15oz can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and chopped
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 oz grated pecorino romano cheese, divided
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (preferrably all-natural, lowfat)
In a small saucepan, combine the bulgur with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes, until water is absorbed. Set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully cut the stems from the peppers and remove the seeds and inner ribs. Cook the peppers in boiling water for about 5 minutes; drain and let cool.
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cook the ground turkey, onion, and garlic in a skillet over medium heat, stirring to break up the ground turkey, until browned. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Add the chopped artichoke hearts and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
In a bowl, combine the ground turkey mixture, cooked bulgur, cottage cheese, basil, parsley, and 3/4 of the pecorino romano cheese; mix well.
Spray an 8×8″ baking dish or small casserole. Fill the peppers with the turkey mixture, packing the stuffing in well. Place the peppers in the baking dish and spoon the spaghetti sauce over. Sprinkle with remaining pecorino romano.
Bake, uncovered, for about 25 minutes.
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 324.3
Total Fat: 10.5 g
Cholesterol: 60.0 mg
Sodium: 569.5 mg
Total Carbs: 27.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 6.0 g
Protein: 26.4 g
I'm Cara, lover of creative, clean food and healthy living. Pumpkin, goat cheese, and eggplant make me swoon. I have an insatiable sweet tooth and desire to lift heavy things. 
Cara Craves... — April 4, 2011 @ 8:41 am
I adore stuffed peppers…Yours sound/look fabulous!
Shannon — April 4, 2011 @ 3:28 pm
ooh, i love this version!
dliff @ yelleBELLYboo — April 4, 2011 @ 3:42 pm
oh YUM, i might have to make these tonight!!
Joanne — April 4, 2011 @ 4:47 pm
It's definitely disheartening to have to fight against the foodie masses when posting a new recipe. So I feel you on this one. That stuffing sounds totally delicious though! And it's a reminder that it's been way too long since I've eaten artichokes. Feels like a lifetime…
Kaytorade — April 4, 2011 @ 6:42 pm
love the addition of artichoke!
Shannon — April 5, 2011 @ 1:12 am
ooh, i love this version!
Nicole, RD — April 5, 2011 @ 11:27 am
I have never made stuffed peppers…tragedy, I know. I need to change that since it's a marriage-saver recipe and all 🙂 Looks delicious, Cara! Think green peppers would do alright? Red are $2 each lately…ow.
Cara — April 5, 2011 @ 11:29 am
Green are fine, I just prefer the taste of red :)www.carascravings.comsent from my DROID
Branappetit — April 5, 2011 @ 1:45 pm
oh man, I can't wait for fresh peppers this summer!
Emily — April 5, 2011 @ 2:07 pm
I have far too little pepper stuffing in my life. Great idea!
Homeowner Insurance — April 5, 2011 @ 3:16 pm
Looks wonderful! I'll make this for lunch!
Jennifer — April 7, 2011 @ 1:20 pm
I LOVE artichokes…thanks for this recipe!
Katie — April 7, 2011 @ 9:40 pm
Oh my goodness. That last picture almost made my heart melt. Yum!
grace — April 7, 2011 @ 10:05 pm
why aren't artichoke hearts used more often? they're amazing, and they're perfect here.
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nic — February 29, 2012 @ 9:55 am
Wow, thanks for an awesome recipe; the flavor in these is incredible. I made some tweaks because my grocery store was out of ground turkey (there was a sale and they were cleaned out) so I subbed in 97 percent lean ground beef. I also used quinoa instead of bulgur. Everything else, I followed exactly and the peppers were a ginormous hit in this household. You cannot beat the peppery, briney, garlicky flavor of the artichokes and the fresh herbs. I will be making this flavor combination again. Side note: I bet these would be incredible with goat cheese. Mmmmmm…
Cara — February 29, 2012 @ 9:59 am
Thanks for the feedback, I’m so glad you liked the recipe! Those sound like great substitutions 🙂
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Bobby — November 21, 2012 @ 12:56 am
OK – Well, being somewhat mature and not worried if someone had trumped my would-be recipe, I did a Google search for artichoke and turkey stuffed peppers and found your recipe. Sounds very appetizing. Previous to searching you out, I went to the store tonight to find something to spice up Thanksgiving. I have cooked traditional Thanksgiving dinner most of my adult life – so thought I would mix it up a little, not to save a marriage, but to upend the boredom of lifelong traditional cooking on the holidays. I love stuffed peppers and know how to cook them fairly well. So I picked up some ground turkey, artichoke hearts, artichoke parmesan marinara sauce, mushrooms and some spicy pepper paste for a little zip. I have salt, pepper, garlic and basil, and will try this with a long grain white rice base (traditional, I know) to go with the ground turkey etc. Wish me luck!!!
Cara — November 21, 2012 @ 8:42 am
Hi Bobby,
I tend to think I’m a much better recipe developer than a writer. So please excuse me for having to exaggerate a little sometimes to create a story 😉
Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!