Who else is always here for the hot sauce?! I’m a huge fan of pretty much any hot sauce. Probably because my Grampy is the leader of the pack and I truly watched him drown his food in hot sauce my entire life. For every holiday, birthday, Father’s Day, we are all always finding new hot sauces to give him and he gets so excited. He’s the sweetest guy ever, but he will out spice you any day! Everyone in my family has followed his lead and jumped on the Frank’s Red Hot train. Aside from my obvious love of sriracha, there is no better hot sauce out there! Now, that’s not to say that I don’t love all the hot sauces, because I do, but Frank’s just stands apart from the crowd. Found yourself with a dry sandwich? Throw some red hot on it. Made some bland eggs for breakfast? Throw some red hot on it. Need a new marinate for a chicken dinner? Drown that chicken in some red hot. Not loving that cheese pizza? Throw some red hot on it. You get the point….Red Hot is a gift and it’s been instilled in my mind ever since I can remember!
I’ve always been a fan of stuffed peppers. Usually I love to make them in the Fall because I think I’m funny and I love to carve out a jack-o-latern in the pepper to be festive! It’s so fun and adorable! Aside from that though, I love them because they are always filled with so much flavor and are relatively easy to make. Plus, I love how you have a serving of veggies, protein, and complex carbs all in one little pepper and don’t have to worry about making a bunch of sides. It’s like a one stop shop!
Buffalo stuffed peppers are my favorite flavor though. I already mentioned above that I love hot sauce, so this clearly isn’t coming as a surprise to you. Of course, the beauty of a stuffed pepper is you can really put whatever you want it in, but my buffalo stuffed peppers lack no flavor, have just the right amount of a “kick” and always leave us wanting to go back for more! My trick is to sneak as many veggies as you can into the turkey mixture so that you are adding a bunch of extra nutrients and don’t even know it. You can add chopped spinach, asparagus, brussel sprouts, green beans, there’s not wrong answer. My personal favorite is adding broccoli. I love broccoli, but you don’t even know it’s in there, so it’s a great way to sneak in some extra veggies if you have kids at home, or for anyone who isn’t a vegetable lover. Pair these with a big side salad and you have a meal worth drooling over!
These stuffed pepper are gluten-free, dairy-free (if you don’t add the cheese to the top), paleo, made with all whole, real ingredients, and are completely guilt-free. Sure, there’s a decent portion of sodium in these from the Red Hot, but as I say all the time, a healthy lifestyle is ALL about balance. You will never get where you to be or feel the way you want to feel from cutting everything out, so don’t be scared to emphasize balance in your diet! A plate filled with lean protein, fresh vegetables, and a complex-carb is the plate to be proud of, so ENJOY IT!
This recipe yields 6 stuffed peppers.
What You Need:
1 package of organic turkey meat
6 organic bell peppers
¼ cup goat cheddar cheese, shredded
1 small head of broccoli, chopped
6 large celery sticks, chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
1 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup + ¼ cup of Frank’s Red Hot
3 cups brown rice
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
Primal Kitchen Ranch (or your favorite) - optional
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a sharp knife, slice the top off of each bell pepper (about ½ inch from the top), clean out the inside of each and set aside.
Next, place your chopped broccoli, celery, carrots, and onion in a food processor and turn on until finely chopped. Set aside.
In a large sauté pan on medium-high heat, warm 1-2 tbsp. of olive oil and your minced garlic. Once warm, add in your chopped veggies and sauté for about 5-7 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together the turkey meat, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and 1/3 cup of Franks Red Hot. Add mixture to the sauté pan and let cook. Make sure you are breaking up the turkey meat with a spatula and occasionally moving it around so nothing burns.
While your turkey is cooking, boil a medium pot with water for your brown rice. I tend to use the quick 10 minute brown rice box, so whatever rice you choose to use, just follow the directions on the back of the box. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
Once the turkey and the vegetables are fully cooked, add in your rice and an extra ¼ cup of Frank’s Red Hot and mix well. Using a large spoon, scoop the turkey mixture into each bell pepper until full. Top each pepper with a little shredded cheese and baking for 40-45 minutes. Drizzle a little ranch over the top and serve with a salad or your favorite vegetable and ENJOY!
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