So this is something that I would have thought to be totally disgusting a couple years ago. I have really expanded my taste buds over the last year or so, and when I came across this seemingly simple recipe on Pinterest, I decided to give it a shot. I adapted it a little bit (Chris is over cringing in a corner somewhere) to fit my taste better, and I think it turned out great.
It really could not have been simpler or quicker, too. From the time I started pulling all of the ingredients out of the fridge to the time when the peppers were in the oven and I was working on minimal clean-up, only 20 minutes had passed. There is little to no prep involved either – simply cooking the quinoa (easy) and cutting the tops off of and getting the seeds out of the peppers. Oh, and instead of using six peppers like the original recipe called for, I only did three. Mainly because I wasn’t sure that we would like the recipe and didn’t want too many leftovers if we hated it. The amount of filling I made (called out below) perfectly filled three peppers and left us with enough to pick at over the next couple of days and maybe put into wraps or mix in with some scrambled eggs for breakfast.
With all that being said, here is how I adapted the recipe:
Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
By damndelicious.net
Ingredients
3 red bell peppers
3 cups cooked quinoa (1-ish cups dry)
1 4-oz can green chiles (to be honest, I would probably omit these next time and add some salsa instead)
1 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup petite diced tomatoes (next time, I will use fresh instead of canned)
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese
1/4 cup feta cheese
I never measure out spices, so I did some of all of the following spices (do the most of the garlic powder):
Garlic powder
Cumin
Onion powder
Chili powder
Salt and pepper
Directions (these could not be simpler!)
Cook the quinoa
While it is cooking, cut the tops off the peppers and scrape out any seeds that are leftover inside
Once quinoa is done, transfer it to a large bowl and mix it with all of the other ingredients
Spoon the mixture into the peppers and put in a pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes
Top them with a little cheese if you want at the end, and that’s it!
We ate these with some hot sauce and salsa, but you could top them with whatever you want or nothing at all. If you make them, I must warn you that I wasn’t even able to eat a whole one. That is certainly not due to the fact that I don’t eat a lot (because eating is my favorite), but because they are so super filling. I probably ate half of a pepper and picked at the filling in the other half. Chris and I both agreed that although they were filling, it’s not in a bad way. We both felt great after eating them.
And I was pretty proud of myself for making them look (in my opinion) shockingly similar to the picture in the recipe.
In the process of finding this recipe, I came across an awesome foodie blog, too: damndelicious.net. I love it! She has such unique twists on really original recipes. Check it out (:
Overall, I would highly recommend this recipe if you are looking for a quick, simple, and healthy weeknight dinner. I’m not sure how these are as leftovers yet, but I think they would be okay if you reheated them in the oven.
Let me know what you think if you try them out!
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