Jan 30 2012

Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipe – Lactose and Gluten Free

This stuffed bell pepper recipe is extremely high in muscle building, lean protein and is also gluten and lactose free.

They taste decadent and delicious, but are full of antioxidants like vitamin C and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium phosphorus, potassium, zinc and manganese, vitamin B6 and B12. Each pepper is packed full of about 33 grams of protein when prepared as directed. These delicious little stuffed peppers pack a punch!

Yield

12 servings (1 stuffed pepper = 1 serving)

Ingredients

• 3 lbs extremely lean ground beef (no more than 4%), turkey, or buffalo
• 1/4 fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup fennel seeds
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup dry minced onion
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup egg whites (approx 5 oz or 5 eggwhites)
• 1/2 cup dry quinoa flakes
• 1 cup freshly roasted garlic cloves
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 3 fresh tomatoes
• 12 fresh bell peppers (green, red, orange, or yellow)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 16-oz container of lactose free cottage cheese

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut the top off of the peppers about 1 inch from the stem end and remove seeds. You may also have to trim the bottoms of the peppers to help them stand up straight.

2. Add several generous pinches of sea salt to the boiling water, then add the peppers and boil for just 3 minutes. Make sure to keep the peppers completely submerged. The peppers should turn a brilliant green, yellow, orange or red (depending on what type of peppers you have used) and their flesh should be slightly softened. If  you will be serving the peppers with their tops as a part of your presentation, make sure to boil the tops too. Drain and set aside to cool.

3. Make sure the oven is preheated to 350 degrees F. If you don’t have the garlic roasted yet, I like to roast mine on my George Forman grill with just a TBSP of olive oil, wrapped in foil. If you don’t have a George Forman grill you can also roast the garlic the same way in the oven. It takes just 5 minutes on the George Forman grill, but may take a little longer in the oven.

4. Mix the ground beef, buffalo or turkey in a large mixing bowl with mint, oregano, onion, fennel, basil, quinoa flakes, eggs and egg whites. Season generously with salt and pepper as well. I use a wooden spatula to mix ingredients, but you may find it easier to mix together with your hands.

5. Warm a large skillet over medium heat on the stove top. Add meat mixture and just slightly brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

6. Arrange the cut side of the peppers up in a baking dish covered in foil. Also wrap the bottom of each of the peppers in foil. Stuff the peppers with the filling. For the nutritional data listed, make sure to evenly distribute the filling mixture within each of the 12 peppers. If some of the peppers is slightly smaller and you have left over filling mixture, cook the remaining filling mixture completely on the stovetop. This way you can serve them with a bit of the additional filling on the side to get equal amounts of the filling mixture with each serving. Evenly distribute the cottage cheese on top of each stuffed pepper. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed peppers is 150-160°F.

7. I usually check the peppers half way through to make sure they aren’t getting over done. This is how the peppers should look half way through when baking.

8. When the peppers are done baking, remove from heat and allow to cool just slightly.

9. Remove from foil, serve and enjoy!

10. You can also freeze the peppers individually, then reheat them later in the microwave or allow them to thaw and reheat them in the oven.

 

Nutritional Data Per Serving

Calories: 327

Calories from Fat: 93

Total Fat: 11 g

Saturated Fat: 3 g

Total Carbohydrate: 28 g

Dietary Fiber: 8 g

Sugars: 6 g

Protein 33 g

The good

This recipe is a good source of Vitamin K, Niacin, B6, Vitamin B12, Iron, Phosphorus, Zinc and Selenium, and a VERY good source of protein, Vitamin C and Manganese.

The bad

This recipe is high in Cholesterol.

 

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By Cori Ann Lentz • Food & Diet • 2 • Tags: Diet, Egg whites, Food, Gluten free, High protein, Lactose free, Recipe