Healthy Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes Recipe

5		Bell Peppers, large
3		Tomatoes, large
1-2 lbs		Extra Lean Ground Beef, Lean Ground Turkey/Chicken, Can of Lentils or Tofu
2 cups		Baby Carrots, chopped
Head		Broccoli
Head		Garlic, smashed and minced
2-inch cube		Ginger, peeled and minced
Bunch		Green Onions
5		Sun Dried Tomatoes, not the kind in oil, chopped
1 2/3 cup		Brown Rice
3 cups		Water
		Olive Oil, enough to lightly coat frying pan

Healthy Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes Recipe

Directions

Chop up green onions, keeping the tops refrigerated for later.
Add brown rice, water, sun dried tomatoes, ginger, garlic, baby carrots and chopped green onions (bottoms) to a large saucepan.
Cut off the stalk of the broccoli. Cut off any of the tough skin. Cut up into small pieces and add to the saucepan. Cut up the rest of the broccoli into bite sized pieces and reserve for later.
Cut the top 1/6 off the tomatoes. Either chop the tops up and add to the sauce pan or reserve them to put on top of the stuffed tomatoes later. Using a spoon (grapefruit spoon works well), scoop out the inside into the sauce pan while keeping the outer body of the tomato intact. Repeat for the rest of the tomatoes.
Bring the contents of the sauce pan to a boil over high heat. Allow to boil for 5 minutes.
Cover the saucepan with a lid and reduce heat to medium-low for 15 minutes. Add the broccoli florets and cover again for 15-20 minutes.
Reduce to low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and refrigerate until ready to use.
If you are using lentils or other beans, skip this step. Otherwise, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the extra lean ground beef, turkey, chicken or tofu.
If you are using tofu, saute until the outsides have turned a nice, golden brown. Otherwise, cook the meat thoroughly. Remove from heat.
Cut the bell peppers in half. Clean out any seeds or membranes. Arrange the bell pepper halves with the tomatoes in a 9 by 13 inch, rectangular baking dish.
Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the protein of your choice with the brown rice mixture.
Spoon the protein-rice mixture into peppers and tomatoes. Sprinkle any extra around the peppers and tomatoes.
Cover with tin foil.

Baking Instructions

Roast at 400F for 20 minutes, covered with tin foil. Remove the foil and cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes. I've made this recipe with anything under the sun so feel free to tweak it to your tastes! Sometimes I prepare the protein-rice mixture and peppers/tomatoes in advance and then spoon the mixture into them whenever I'm ready to put them in the oven.