Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers!

I enjoy the holidays immensely! I try to make our home fun for the family by decorating inside and out and by making themed foods and activities. I will share some of my photos of our Halloween decor on the next entry. For now, here's the recipe for these fun little guys:

I got this neat idea off of www.godairyfree.org.  I changed up the recipe, but kept the creativity.

Pick orange colored bell peppers that are flat enough on the bottom to sit upright. I tried to choose them like I do our pumpkins that we carve every year.

Fortunately, I found these on sale for $1 a piece. Score!! Wash each pepper and cut the top off the pepper and remove the seeds. Carefully carve your choice of Jack O Lantern faces onto each pepper.

Next, you will need low fat ground turkey, white rice, and tomato paste for the base of the filling:

You can also use tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, or spaghetti sauce in place of the paste. I just happened to have the paste on hand to use. (You do have to add some water to thin out the paste).

You will also need the following:
1/2 tsp garlic powder or minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Brown the ground turkey with the onions. Add the spices. Place 1/2 cup of the rice (no need to cook the Ready Rice first), cooked meat mixture, 3 TBS tomato paste and cheese. Mix together-add a little water, as needed. Fill each pepper with the mixture.

Foil line a baking dish and cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 minutes.
Enjoy!