Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I had a craving for quinoa last week and decided I’d try out a recipe that I saw recently for quinoa stuffed bell peppers! This recipe is easy to throw together, and I was able to get a lot of things done during the simmer phase and the bake phase. Yay for productive evenings! The best part is that I had lots of leftovers! I kept the recipe for the quinoa the same, but only used 2 bell peppers for Bryan and myself, with the intent of keeping leftover quinoa as filling for another night! You could also reserve some of the quinoa as filling in an enchilada or burrito!

This recipe turned out great! We added salsa on top of our peppers because it just seemed like it needed a bit of a twist and kick. Perfection!

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 8-oz. package mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced very thin
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups grated Pepper Jack cheese (we used cheddar because it was on hand)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.

Stir in quinoa and vegetable broth. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and stir in black beans, corn and 1 cup cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour reserved liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.

Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 40 minutes. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tablespoon of remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving.