Stuffed Peppers Halloween Style

Halloween Recipe #1- Countdown to Halloween!

I can't believe Halloween will be here in ONE week! Once Halloween comes Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years will soon follow, but lets take it one holiday at a time.

As we anticipate Halloween and all of the fun activities that go along with it, trick-or-treat, costumes, candy, pumpkin baked good....we can sometimes lose sight of how much sugar we are in taking! For the next 7 nights leading up to Halloween I will be doing a mini-series of fun and healthy (for the most part!) Halloween/Fall recipes! Tonight is the first recipe, so you are in for a real treat!

Getting in the spooky spirit of things I decided to make dinner a little fun tonight by carving peppers, yes...peppers! Peppers resemble pumpkins in a lot of ways; 1) they are both weird shaped, 2) you have to cut the tops off to scoop the gunk out, and 3) you can carve them.

This is a kid-friendly recipe! However, it is best to have the grown-up carve the faces, but ask the kids what kind of face they want on their stuffed pepper. Getting kids involved in the kitchen is one of the best things a parent can do, not only is it quality bonding time, but it's never too early to teach them how to cook! 

First step is to pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is heating, in a large pan combine ground turkey, black beans, corn, salsa, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, taco seasoning, and lime juice. Cover and let simmer. I added a spicier salsa and a good amount of cumin to make the mixture spicy and flavorful. Add spice according to your taste buds.

The next step is going to be to carve the peppers! Cut the tops and set to the side (do not discard). Cut out the white lining and seeds, but be careful not to cut all the way through the bottom of the pepper. Next, take a small sharp knife with a pointed tip and carefully carve faces. 

Once the mixture is done remove from heat and stir. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Next stuff peppers to the top. Use a slotted spoon so drain the liquid from the mixture before stuffing to prevent liquid from running out of the carved pepper. Place stuffed peppers in a bread pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with aluminium foil. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Pull from oven and top with Colby Jack shredded cheese (or whatever kind of shredded cheese you like!) and bake uncovered for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Plate peppers for serving. If you want to make it look like they are "throwing up" (like on the left) then scoop out some of the mixture and set aside before topping the peppers with cheese.

This meal can stand alone or feel free to serve a side salad or brown rice on the side!

If you are following the 21 Day Fix Portion Control Containers this is 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1/2 blue. (Not including any side dishes).


Ingredients:

4 medium peppers (red, yellow, orange, or green)
2 tsp of olive oil
2lbs ground turkey
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup canned black beans (drained & rinsed)
1 cup corn kennels (I used frozen corn, but canned would work fine too)
1 tbsp lime juice
1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Directions:

1. Pre-Heat overn to 375 degrees
2. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat
3. Cut tops off of peppers and set to the side. Clean out the pepper of all seeds and white rind
4. Carefully carve faces into each pepper (Remember, let the kids help!)
5. Once mixture is done fill peppers to the top and place in an olive oil sprayed pan
6. Cover pan with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes
7. After the 30 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and top with cheese. Cook for another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted
8. Serve and Enjoy!

Have a Spooky Halloween!