Stuffed Peppers with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce.

Veggies!

Excuse me while I run and hide.

Oh, hello there cream. I’ll come back since I love you.

Wednesday I received a text message from Mr. How Sweet. It read, “Do you know what sounds good to me? Stuffed peppers made with ground turkey over mashed potatoes.”

I thought it sounded pretty good too. Except I’ve only made stuffed peppers once, and I used a combination of ground pork and ground beef. Um… best stuffed peppers ever. I asked if he wanted the pork/beef mixture instead of turkey, and he replied with, “No. We eat too much red meat.”

Come again?

What is this “we” business? “We” do not eat too much red meat. I may eat red meat once or twice a month. And since when does Mr. How Sweet care about how much red meat he is eating? Last time I checked, he wanted a porterhouse on Sundays, burgers on Mondays, meatloaf of Wednesdays and filet on Fridays.

It must be a phase.

Regardless, when I went to pick up the ingredients, I spotted ground chicken breast. Chicken it was! Even if it meant I had to get down and dirty with some veggies.

Well, this guy is sort of cute.

Kinda makes me want to rethink my stance on veggies?

[print_this]

Stuffed Peppers with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

makes 4 peppers

4 red, green, orange or yellow peppers

1 pound ground chicken or turkey breast

1/2 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 29-ounce can of tomato sauce (I used Red Pack)

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the tops off of the peppers and remove the ribs and seeds. Set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and chopped onion, sauteing until soft – about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute. Season ground chicken breast with salt and pepper and add it to the skillet to brown. All chicken to cook completely – it should take about 10-12 minutes to brown. Stir occasionally.

While chicken is cooking, mix the tomato sauce with the heavy cream and remaining garlic clove and heat it over low heat. Stir in almost all of the fresh basil, reserving some for garnish.

Stir brown rice and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese into chicken mixture, then add about 1/2 cup of tomato cream sauce in mixing to coat. Turn off heat. Divine the mixture evenly between the four peppers, stuffing them to the top. Place in a dish that allows the peppers to stand. Spoon a bit of tomato cream sauce over the tops, and pour the rest of the sauce into the bottom of the pan. Set the tops gently back on the peppers. Bake for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for 30 more. Serve with more parmesan cheese and basil to garnish, with mashed potatoes on the side.

[/print_this]

Break out your stretchy pants… gluttony week continues tomorrow.

Tagged as: chicken, recipes