So I’m half proud of myself, half embarrassed. I have been cooking doubles so that I can store in my freezer in preparation for the baby. It’s not that I am imagining the Apocalypse or something. It’s partially that I’m blessed enough to have a HUGE freezer begging for frozen things of this nature. It’s also partially the fact that I’m already cooking so what’s the big deal in doubling the recipe. And then it’s partially because I do want to make sure that we have easy, home cooked meals without having to actually do anything when I have a newborn. Either way, this beauty is resting in my belly as well as in my freezer as we speak!
- 4 large green bell peppers
- 1 cup of cooked brown rice
- 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 can diced tomatoes (I used with green chiles which added some spice)
- tomato sauce - enough to cover the bottom of a casserole dish (I added some tomato sauce on top of the peppers too)
- 2 tbsp canola oil (I used Pam spray)
- salt and pepper to taste
- I added some mushrooms because I had them in the house
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place in a casserole dish - the bottom of the dish should be covered with a thin layer of tomato sauce.
- In a pan, add canola oil and sautee the onions until translucent (5-7 minutes). Add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the ground turkey and brown.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked ground turkey, brown rice, and diced tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scoop mixture into each bell pepper half.
- Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. If desired, uncover, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, and bake an additional 5 minutes.
I love any meal that I can cook and clean almost everything up ahead of time. I also love any meal that has all three groups (protein, grain and veggie) in one casserole dish. And I really love any meal where ALL four of us eat it!!!! Gabby rejected the green pepper portion but I still consider it success!
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Heli,
Very importate note to you: When you take stuff out of the freezer that you stored in a glass pan, you must take it out ahead of time and let the pan thaw out on counter. If you put a glass pan directly from the freezer into the oven, it will shatter and then you will have to clean your oven. I know someone who did this and had lasagna all over their oven, and no, it was not me.
Good advice! I actually froze in those disposable Gladloc or whatever containers. I probably would have made that mistake though so thanks for the heads up!