I hate wasting food, so about once or twice a week I look in the fridge and try to figure out what to do with the produce/ herbs which are on their last legs and whatever else is languishing there about to go bad; and that is how this stuffed peppers dish came to be. A friend had just given me some peppers from his garden, and I had rice leftover in the fridge, as well as a pound of ground turkey in the freezer. Stuffed peppers were the obvious meal to be made (subbing turkey for beef), and so I'm sharing what I made.
I happen to like a little heat but never keep jalapenos at home unless there's a dish I have in mind which requires it. In its stead, I keep a tube of jalapeno paste in the fridge, and it happens to work quite well in this dish. (Click here to see the product I have, although there may be others.) If you want more heat, substitute spicy Italian sausage filling for the turkey and pepper jack cheese for the cheddar. Honestly, this recipe would work with whatever meat, cheese or grain you happen to have on-hand; it's that versatile.
And speaking of versatility, I recently made this with leftover cut-up peppers which I forgot to put out with some hummus recently (doh!). Since they were already sliced, I obviously couldn't stuff them (and didn't have any other in-tact peppers), and so decided to make the stuffing with them (dicing them), and it was delicious! It has been used as a base layer under fried eggs (instead of a hash), eaten with flour tortillas (as burritos/ soft tacos), and eaten on its own, so I can attest to its versatility.
I realize stuffed peppers may not be a top-of-mind dish, but I'd like to suggest it become one; or at least make it into the consideration set.
Enjoy!