Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

There are days where we want a hearty meal, but don’t want it to be carb heavy. A healthy alternative is to stuff vegetables and trust me, it will fill you up a lot more than you think!

I had all these bell peppers in my refrigerator and decided to stuff them with quinoa rather than rice, which is what we traditionally do. Quinoa is such a great healthy option; it’s not a grain, but fills you up as if it were. It is also packed with protein, fibre, iron, and so much more. I had made one whole bell pepper for each person, cut in half and let me tell you, we barely made it through the first half! The good thing about that is that we had delicious leftovers for the next day.

What’s easy about this recipe is most of it can be prepared in advance and all you have to do is stuff the peppers and pop them in the oven. What is important are the flavours and ingredients you choose to help make it a flavourful dish.

When I am using quinoa in a specialty dish (pretty much when I am not using it for myself for a quick meal), I like to cook it in a broth adding a lot more flavour to the quinoa. It makes such a difference!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cooked quinoa (I usually follow the instructions on the back, but I swapped regular water with vegetable broth)
• 4 bell peppers
• 2 diced medium sized carrots
• 1 diced celery stalk
• 1/2 a white onion, diced
• 2 diced portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 diced zucchini
• salt and pepper for taste
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat up olive oil in a pan on medium high heat.
2. Add the chopped vegetables and sautee them until they soften, about 7 minutes. Let the vegetables cool.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a bowl, combine the cooled quinoa and vegetables, adding a little salt and pepper for taste.
5. Take your bell peppers and cut them in half, removing any membrane inside, including the stem.
6. I like to add a little salt and drizzle some olive oil inside the peppers before they are stuffed.
7. Using a spoon, stuff the peppers right up to the rim. I would pack it lightly, no need to force it all in.
8. Optional: Sprinkle some bread crumbs on top to give it the extra crunchiness.
9. Place in a baking ban with 3/4 cup of water and white wine ( I just like the flavour) and bake for about 40 minutes, covered with tinfoil.
10. Change the oven to broil, and let the top crisp up for about 5 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Antonietta xo