Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Enter freezer friendly dish numero dos. I was super excited to try this dish, as it was my first time ever trying quinoa (pronounced keeeen-waaaahhh). Hearty and filling, not to mention totally delicious, I could only eat half a pepper and I was stuffed.

The prep was a bit more time consuming than I would've liked, but the end result was worth it. It had so much flavor! I adapted the recipe a bit, to make it work with what I had on hand. I used mozzarella as I didn't have pepper jack, and added a jalapeno pepper (for flavor! it's not spicy I promise). Next time, I would love to try pepper jack, because I think it would be ultra tasty. Also, the original recipe says this yields 8 servings (4 whole peppers, halved). They must have tested this recipe with HUGE peppers, because I had about 2 cups of stuffing left over. If that happens, just pop it in the freezer, and you can stuff more peppers later.

The rest of the peppers are now on their way to the freezer. It's nice to know that in the coming weeks I'll have a super healthy meal waiting for me when I get home from a busy day at school! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 ribs celery, finely chopped (½ cup)
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
¾ cup quinoa, rinsed
2-3 large carrots, grated (1 ½ cups)
1 ½ cups grated pepper Jack or mozzarella cheese, divided
4 extra large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Directions

 

Heat oil in 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 spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour 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 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. 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.

Recipe Source: Vegetarian Times