I’m a huge fan of stuffed bell peppers because there are so many combinations of ingredients you can use to make them and they can be very healthy depending on the ingredients you use.  I had purchased ground turkey this week from the local market and I decided to make a variation of the Spicy Thai Basil recipe — Spicy Thai Basil stuffed bell peppers with rice.

Ingredients

• 1 Pound of Ground Turkey
  
• 2 Cups of coarsely chopped Thai Sweet Basil
  
• 1 Half of a Large Onion – diced
  
• 4 Large Garlic Cloves – minced
  
• 4 Whole Red Bell Peppers
  
• 1 Cup of White Rice (You can brown rice for a healthier option)
  
• 2 Tablespoons of Lime Juice
  
• 1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce (You can buy this at any grocery store in the Asian food section)
  
• 1 Tablespoon of Sriracha (You can buy this at sprouts in the ethnic foods section)
  
• 1 Tablespoon of Fish Sauce (You can buy this at sprouts in the ethnic foods section)
  
• 1 Tablespoon of Honey
  
• 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
  Salt and pepper to taste

Notes: Traditionally, minced chicken is used for the recipe but I used ground turkey.  Feel free to use whatever meat/tofu you desire.I used basil from my garden and it was not the thai sweet basil variety. It was fine but for a more authentic taste substitute Sriracha with red peppers and regular basil with thai sweet basil.

Instructions

1) Cook the rice.  Add 2 cups of water to your 1 cup of rice and set it on the stove in a pot on medium until boil and then lower the heat.  The rice should be ready in approximately 20 minutes.
2) To make the sauce, mix the lime juice, Sriracha, fish sauce, honey, and soy-sauce together in a small bowl and put aside.
2) Dice the onion, peel and mince the garlic, and chop the basil.  Then, pour the oil (I prefer olive oil but feel free to use another type) onto the pan and cook the onions and garlic on the pan until the onion pieces become translucent. Add the ground turkey to the pan and cook until the meat browns. Then add the chopped basil and the sauce  to the pan and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.
4) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit  Cut off the tops of the bell peppers and then core the interior.  Fill each of the bell peppers halfway with rice and then fill the remainder of the bell pepper with the ground turkey mixture.  Place the peppers in a baking dish and fill with 1 inch of water.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.