Spicy Sweet Shepherds Pie Stuffed Peppers

I often find myself paging through my cookbooks trying to come up with ideas of what to make for dinner during the week.  I rarely end up actually following a recipe, but I often use the recipes as inspiration.  This stuffed pepper recipe was inspired by a shepherds pie stuffed pepper recipe I saw in a cookbook (can’t remember which one) – except that I didn’t really use any of the same ingredients.

The original recipe was a more traditional shepherd’s pie…  However, I had a large white sweet potato I wanted to use, so I used ingredients that would pair well with the sweet potato and ended up with a sweet and spicy combination that was surprisingly good and quite healthy!

Nutrition Statistics:

(4 servings – one half pepper each)

Calories 240; Fat 6g (Sat Fat 2g); Cholesterol 35mg; Sodium 152mg; Carbs 33g; Fiber 8g; Sugars 7g; Protein 17g

Ingredients:

• 2 large green bell peppers
• 1 large white sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/2 pound ground sirloin (90/10)
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 1/4 cup fat free half and half
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Meanwhile, cut each pepper in half lengthwise, and remove the stem and seeds.  Cook the peppers in the boiling water for about 4 minutes.  Remove with tongs and place on a clean kitchen towel to dry.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the ground sirloin.  Add the onion, garlic, and mixed vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are heated through and tender.  Season with paprika and cayenne. Stir to combine.  Add the sherry to the pan to deglaze.  Cook for an additional minute or two.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In the same boiling water, cook the sweet potato chunks for 6-8 minutes, or until fork tender.  Drain and return to the pot.  Add the half and half to the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Mash the potatoes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray and place the four pepper halves in the dish. Divide the beef mixture among the four pepper halves.  Top each pepper half with one quarter of the mashed sweet potato and sprinkle with additional paprika (I used a pastry bag and piped the potatoes on top, but a spoon would work fine).  Bake for 15-20 minutes.