Lame.
If you missed my weekend wrap-up picture post last night, check it out. Twas a nice little weekend that included a 2 hour walk around the Charles, homemade stuffed peppers with a new tomato sauce, Magic Hat Circus Boys and an episode of Chopped on the couch, a nice Saturday morning circuit workout sesh at the gym, a productive Saturday afternoon, a celebratory dinner out in Cambridge for Katie & Vinnie’s engagement, and Jess’s bridal shower yesterday.
I felt pleased this weekend with last week’s workouts:
- Sunday: Off
- Monday: Pyramid Strength Sets and 20 minute HIIT cardio intervals
- Tuesday: Took Liz’s kickboxing class, taught my Circuit class
- Wednesday: Off
- Thursday: Taught my Circuit class
- Friday: 2 hour walk — it was too nice out to workout indoors!
- Saturday: Circuit workout + 20 minutes steady state cardio
This week is extremely busy for me both in and out of work, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to plan my workouts ahead of time. Obviously Tuesday and Thursday are figured out, but the rest of the week I’ll have to play by ear. Hate that!
Last week I was also pleased with my successful meal planning, and actually sticking to it! One of my fave meals from the week was our Friday night dinner, a ground turkey and rice stuffed pepper recipe out of my Betty Crocker Heart Healthy Cookbook:
Some notes — since this meal was only for 2, we used 4 bell peppers instead of 6, 1 each was plenty enough and we each had a leftover pep for dinner last night. We also substituted the ground beef for ground turkey, which my cookbook informed me saved us 11 grams of fat and 100 calories per serving. We also used a low-fat cheese.
The result? Healthier trade ups that still tasted yummy in my tummy.
For a tomato sauce we used this jar of deliciousness:
The folks behind La Famiglia DelGrosso were awesome to send me some sauces to sample. This one, Uncle Fred’s Fireworks Sauce, is made from “the freshest zucchini, garlic and onions with just the right amount of spices to make it a tangy, tasty favorite.” The sauce definitely had a kick to it, but since it was cooked with so many other ingredients, it wasn’t too much for wimpy me to handle. Had it been just a plain pasta and sauce meal, it would have been too hot for me. Tim tasted it and immediately said, “This is why people shouldn’t buy Ragu!” We enjoyed trying out the new sauce, and I feel like I’m actually building up a liiiiitttllee bit of heat tolerance lately. Woohoo!
This dish takes a little long to bake in the oven, but it’s definitely worth the wait.
Directions
- Cut thin slice from stem end of each bell pepper to remove top of pepper. Remove seeds and membranes; rinse peppers. If necessary, cut thin slice from bottom of each pepper so they stand up straight. In 4 quart Dutch oven, add enough water to cover peppers. Heat to boiling; add peppers. Cook about 5 minutes; drain.
- In 10-inch skillet, cook turkey and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until turkey is brown; drain. Stir in rice, salt, garlic, and 1 cup of the sauce; cook until hot.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Stuff peppers with turkey mixture. Stand peppers upright in an ungreased 8 inch square glass baking dish. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers.
- Cover tightly with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 minutes longer or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.
Fun fact: This was actually one of the first meals I made for Tim when we started dating! It all makes sense now…
Anyone have a good workout plan lined up for the week? How about a good stuffed pepper recipe?
I LOVE peppers like nothing else, but I’ve never baked them myself yet. What I like to do is slice up red, orange, and green peppers and spread some laughing cow cheese on top…amazing. I just wish they weren’t so darn expensive around here!
My workout plan includes plenty of squats, deadlifts, bench press, and dumbbell rows–we’ll see how many pullups I can get in there too!
My husband is allergic to bell peppers-but I love them stuffed. Do you think this could be made with large, firm tomatoes? Thank you.
I haven’t tried that myself, but I don’t see why not! I would give it a whirl and see what happens!
My mother in law uses tomatoes in addition to peppers when making stuffed peppers. We actually prefer the tomato ones.
I’m making these peppers tonight with lean turkey meat-eating tuned!
Do you cook the rice first or does it cook in the sauce??
Hi Sharon, cook it first!
Looks great!! Some recipes call to parboil the peppers first and some don’t?? Is it really necessary?
Thanks, Lisa! We usually do parboil them in our house. Just to make sure the pepper is fully cooked. If you prefer them crispier/crunchier though, it doesn’t REALLY matter. Totally a preference thing.
I am going to fix these this week! I was glad to see ths recipe as t was very similar to the one I am used to as it is how my Mom did it!
I will be at the gym at 5 am for my workout on eliptipcal and treadmill and follow up with free-weights!
Have a great week!
Just made this tonight and it was everything I hoped it would be! Just like my Granny’s used to make! I used colored bell peppers, no onions and yum yum yum!!! Thanks so much!!!
Oh and I cut up some of the red bell peppers top I cut off and added it in the mix 🙂
I want to try and make these tonight? Do you precook the rice ahead of time?
Hi Sharon, yes do cook the rice ahead of time!
I’ve made these multiple times for my fiancé and friends and they’re ALWAYS a hit. I take your recommendation and use the ground turkey and I use my own tomato sauce that I make/can to mix and top the peppers with. The recipe is definitely a keeper, thanks for sharing!
My late mother-in-law’s recipe included eggs in the hamburger mix! Personally have not made this way! What do you think?