I am a veggie lover and the veggie I am most in love with right now are sweet bell peppers! Could it be because they have the word sweet in their name? I do naturally tend to gravitate towards all things sweet! Possibly not, but they are really delicious!
I love to eat them raw, roasted, or in my newest kitchen appliance... the air fryer! These days it seems I have been using my air fryer more than my oven. I love it that much! Today, I stayed old school and used the oven and made these yummy stuffed peppers! That is another great thing about peppers! Stuff it with your favorite meats and you have a wonderful meal that includes both your Lean and Greens!
You can use any color pepper of your choice, but I love the red, orange, and yellow ones the most! All peppers start off being green and then they change color as they ripen. They turn yellow, then orange and then red as they ripen. Because the green ones are picked before they are ripe, they lack lots of nutrients and are not as sweet. I still love you green pepper!
Prepare your peppers by slicing the tops off horizontally. Then split the peppers in half lengthwise. Take out the seeds and membranes and lay them on a baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes if you like slightly crunchy peppers or 10 to 15 minutes if you like soft peppers. I baked mine for a full 15 minutes and it came out perfect! I prefer a softer pepper.
Combine your cooked chicken, celery, half the cheese, cream cheese, and ranch dressing.
As well as this amazing sauce right here! This stuff is life!
Mix all the ingredients together until everything is evenly coated.
Stuff your peppers with the delicious creamy mixture.
Then top each pepper with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
I added sliced green onions and a few fresh jalapenos as a garnish.
As if it needed these stuffed peppers to be more spicy! They really weren't too spicy. The cool ranch dressing cuts some of the spiciness of the hot sauce. A marriage made in heaven!
Bake for an additional 10 minutes to get that cheese nice and melted! Enjoy because you will have leftovers... unless of course you have someone to share with!
You could also split each half pepper in half or in thirds and serve them at your next get together! Cutting them into thirds, gives you 24 pieces. You can have 8 of those peppers as a Full Lean and Green! Almost too pretty to eat! Almost!
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
12 ounces cooked chicken breasts, chopped or shredded (2 Leaner Leans)
1/2 cup celery, chopped (1 Green)
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided (1 Lean)
3 tbsp reduced fat cream cheese (3 Condiments)
1/4 cup Frank's hot sauce (2 Condiments)
1/4 cup light ranch dressing (2 Healthy Fats)
4 bell peppers any color, each cut in half from stem to base,
tops and seeds removed (8 Greens)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice the tops of the peppers, horizontally like a lid.
Cut the peppers in half from top to bottom. Remove the seeds and membranes.
Lay pepper halves on baking sheet and cook 8 to 10 minutes if you prefer al dente peppers,
or 10 to 15 minutes if you prefer soft peppers.
Combine, chicken, celery, 1/2 cup cheese, cream cheese, Frank's hot sauce,
and ranch dressing in a large bowl. Stir until combined.
Stuff your peppers with the chicken mixture. Then top with 1 tbsp of cheese per pepper half.
Return the peppers to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes
or until cheese is melted.
Makes 3 Servings
Each serving provides
1 Lean, 3 Greens, and 2 Condiments
There will be a total of 8 pepper halves. Divide 2 of the pepper halves into thirds. You can have two pepper halves plus two of the 1/3 sections as 1 serving! That's a whole lotta food!
