I just blogged about a professional food photo shoot and now I present you with these ugly photos (I think I took them after a workout so my hands were shaking). But didn’t you hear, it’s the inside that counts! We are not superficial around these parts. 
The other day (and by that I mean several months ago) I was looking for a great veggie-full recipe to make in a crockpot and the idea of stuffed peppers came to mind. They are sort of a blank canvas so you can fill them with whatever you want (including uncooked rice – my favorite magic trick! 
<—your surprised face when you try it too), go about your day and then come home to a healthy dinner all ready for you. Pretty fab if you ask me.
And then I came across this turkey and artichoke stuffed peppers recipe from Cara. It uses bulgur which is sold parboiled, which means it cooks quickly. No magic required and it’s a whole (delicious!) grain to boot! You combine it with browned ground turkey (just 1/2lb goes a long way here!), chopped up artichokes, garlic, herbs and cottage cheese and then try not to eat the whole filling all by itself. 
But hold off, because topped with a little tomato sauce and cheese and stuffed in peppers it becomes this awesome little package of goodness. Fantastic!
No, this was not the crockpot meal I originally intended; there were quite a few steps (although none were complicated) but this was incredibly flavorful between the nutty bulgur, the savory turkey, slightly acidic artichokes and tomatoes, creamy cottage cheese and lots of garlic (I looooove garlic!). It went immediately on our favorites list and I hope it becomes your favorite too! 
Thank you, Cara, for another winning recipe!
Do you have a great stuffed pepper recipe? I still want to do another crockpot version with rice.
These photos aren’t ugly at all. In fact, they make me want to eat these stuffed peppers immediately. This looks really yummy!
I still think they are sort of blurry/out of focus but I’m glad they make you want to dig in. Me too (especially since I know how awesome they are)!
Love stuffed peppers! Yours look delicious. I’d never think to include artichokes in these. Yum!
Yup, a highly recommended addition!
I’ve collected a few recipes, one has quinoa and looks particularly interesting, but not tried any yet. I’m not a big fan of cooking or planning or… cleaning up after:) BTW – I grew up outside Boston. But I’ve now been in the Midwest for over half my life.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Yeah, cleaning is not my favorite either
You can’t get this kind of deliciousness without cooking though! 
I’d have to agree with Emily that I think these photos are great!
Oh my goodness, these look great!! What a great dish, I’m going to have to try this. That filling sounds awesome!
Wow. These stuffed bell peppers are impressive. Nice photos.
Blurry or not, those are some tasty looking peppers. And I agree that you can never have too much garlic, except maybe in apple pie.
Hahaha, ewww (unless maybe it’s like a sausage and apple pie? hmm)
Glad you liked these! And they do look pretty darn good. This is definitely one of those hard-to-photography foods.
They look great, and your photos look nice as well. I think stuffed peppers are one of my favorite comfort foods.
These sound delish! Reminds me of Eliie Kriegers stuffed peppers! She uses bulgur too! And I loved them, so maybe its time to make more stuffed peppers
Ellie Krieger has a stuffed pepper recipe? I need to find it asap! It’s been too long since I’ve tried any of her recipes and I’m usually a fan.
it’s been awhile since i’ve had artichokes… that’s a shame
these look delicious!!
Oh my gosh, Elina, this looks delicious! If these are “ugly” photos I can only imagine how much drool a “pretty” photo would render! I love stuffed peppers, too. There is a clean eating magazine wild rice stuffed pepper recipe on my blog that is pretty tasty. I have never made them in the slow cooker, though. Interesting…. P.S. Psyched you are loving Cooking Matters
Interesting. I’ve been looking for a bulgur recipe. I’ll have to try this, it looks de-licious… I don’t think what I bought is parboiled, mind you, I’m not the cook in my house either.
I have never tried to make stuffed peppers and I love this vegetarian take on them. Yum!
I love bulgur! Looks like another winning combination!
These look really filling and delicious. I haven’t made stuffed peppers of any kind in a very long time, and your post is definitely making me crave them. And your photos are NEVER ugly!
Aw, thanks. So sweet!
Umm yeah… I will be making these for dinner tonight! Good lord they look delicious!
Did you make them? What did you think?
ooh, these sound absolutely divine! i love stuffed peppers, we used to eat them a lot growing up, but with the turkey, artichoke + bulgur, these are a bit more dressed up + adult that the version i ate as a kid. love it – will have to give them a try!