Monday, March 21, 2011

WC #3 Update - Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers Review


I made The Deen Brothers Lighter Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers for supper tonight. I served it with peas & carrots and garlic cheddar biscuits.

In my usual style, I made a few changes to the recipe. I added mushrooms when I was sauteing the onion, garlic and zucchini. I left them in big chunks so the non-mushroom eater could easily pick them out. I also browned the turkey before I put it in the peppers. The recipe didn't say to do this, but I was a little concerned that it wouldn't get cooked all the way in the crock pot.

Review:

Ease: This was a relatively easy recipe to make. It took me about 30 minutes to prep. That time did include figuring out how to use my new slicer/shredder that goes with my KitchenAid mixer.

Cost: Most of the ingredients are staples in our house. I don't always have ground turkey, but I found it pretty cheap last week and bought several pounds to put in the freezer. The zucchini isn't a staple right now, but once our garden starts producing we will have tons! The peppers were the most expensive part, but they are kind of pricey right now. I did find a bag of 6 yellow/orange/red peppers at Sam's for less than $5 the other day, which was a good price. Again, once our garden is producing we will have lots of peppers.

Taste: Chris and I both agreed that it needed more seasoning. It definitely needed a little more salt. I might also try to add some other herbs in the mixture next time. The texture was also odd. I cooked it in the crock pot on low for 6 hours, which I think was a little too long. The pepper was very mushy and the filling was also kind of mushy. I think also leaving the rice uncooked might help with the texture. Next time I will probably only cook it for 4 hours. Otherwise, it was a very good recipe.

Nutrition: The only "processed" part of this recipe was the shredded cheese and marinara sauce. Everything else was fresh, whole grain, and meat.

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

3 comments:

strem said...

That's my usual experience with stuffed peppers: not enough salt. But, it's hard for me to know that ahead of time because it's not like I'm going to dig my finger into raw meat and give it a taste test, right?!? So, I try to always go back to my mom's standard stuffed pepper recipe and make sure there's at least that much equivalent to the meat. I agree with you on browning the meat beforehand too. I would have done the same for sure!

lydia said...

What's your mom's standard recipe? I would love to know! Salt can be tricky, especially when considering raw meat. Your comment made me laugh and gag at the same time! Yuck!

strem said...

I will try to send it to you promptly. I love them very much, and that's the recipe when I make them for church. I know it's only been a few times, so I need to add that to my regular rotation list.