Last week I tried a new crockpot recipe, and it was a terrible disappointment. The next day I was determined to redeem myself with a decent meal.
John had suggested that we try making stuffed peppers with ground chicken instead of beef. My search came up with some interesting recipes, but nothing seemed quite right. This one came closest, and I used it as my inspiration.
The peppers were a hit. We had leftovers, and the flavor seemed to get even better each day.
Colored Peppers Stuffed with Chicken
2 lbs. ground chicken
Olive oil for cooking
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
15-ounce can of tomato sauce
2 cups of chicken broth (divided)
1 ½ cups cooked rice
Shredded cheese (we used Colby Jack)
6 peppers, any color
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds and stems. Set them aside.
Over medium heat, saute the chopped onion in olive oil until soft, adding garlic and parsley. Add chicken and saute it together. When the chicken is cooked through, drain the oil from the pan. Add the garlic powder, the whole can of tomato sauce, and 1 cup of chicken broth. Stir in the cooked rice. Cook the mixture for 20 minutes until it isn’t soupy anymore. I cooked it until it was more the consistency of chili.
Place the pepper halves in the baking dish and fill them with the chicken mixture.
Pour the other cup of chicken broth into the base of the pan. You may not need the full cup, but I used two pans to fit all the peppers.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and cook for 35 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, sprinkle the cheese over the top of the peppers. Lightly place the foil over them for a couple minutes to melt the cheese.
This recipe makes 12 half-peppers, so you might want to cut it in half—unless you like leftovers or have a larger or hungrier family than mine. But I wanted to cook enough to enjoy over the long weekend, and we did.
If you try these, please let me know how you like them!