Turk-ish Stuffed Peppers

Haha, I think I'm so clever!

I bought some peppers a while ago and they started to get a little squishy, so I phoned a friend for some tips on how to put together a stuffed pepper.

I decided to go Turkish-ish on this one, since I love Turkish food and was gifted a jar of Turkish Spices for Christmas (thanks Socks!). And I can't emphasize to y'all how much I winged this one. Just put whatever you've got on hand in it. As long as you've got olive oil, garlic, onions, and tomatoes (well, and those bell peppers) - you can pretty much use any grain or protein. I used brown rice and ground turkey, cuz I had it. I definitely want to try it with quinoa and farro too!

In a medium saucepan, over medium low heat, add 1/4 cup olive oil, three cloves of garlic (minced) and minced onion (I didn't have any yellow onions, so I used green onion - whatevs). 

Add 1 cup of brown rice (or grain of your choice) and Turkish Seasoning. If you don't have a furry friend to gift you Turkish Seasoning, you can buy it HERE or you can make it up - it looks like this blend I'm using is made up of salt, garlic cumin, black pepper, Turkish oregano, sweet paprika, sumac, cayenne pepper, and cilantro.

I also added a dash of cinnamon and cumin to it (a little Joj-trivia: if I could be any spice, it would totes be cumin).

Stir it all up to combine, then add a healthy splash of dry white wine (because why not?!) and bring to a simmer. I opened a can of san marzano tomatoes, cut up a few and added a little bit of the juice in. 

Add 1 pound of ground turkey in (or protein of your choice) and stir to combine. 

And it ends up looking a little bit like a turkey chili. 

Cover and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the tops off of your bell peppers and remove the seeds (I used three, but I made enough of the filling to really fill 5 or 6) and put in a deep dish (I brushed a little olive oil on the bottom of the dish, I'm not sure if it's necessary, but it can't hurt).

Stuff your peppers! I also topped mine with a little mozzarella cheese.

Then pop into a 350 degree oven for one hour (or until the cheese is melted and the peppers are soft.

And since I had extra filling, I put the extra in a mini pie dish, topped it with some slices of roasted eggplant, and mozz.

That works too. 

When I do it again, I'll probably make sure the tops of the peppers are completely covered with mozzarella because the bits of brown rice got a little dried out near the top, but if you don't mind the crunch, then I suppose it's no big deal.