Summer is here and there's nothing finer than a light meal that's both healthy and filling. Enter quinoa stuffed peppers. For any vegetarians out there, this is a must add to your dinner list.
This recipe was handed off to me from a fellow yogi who just happens to be almost twice my age and is such an inspiration for healthy and balanced living! These peppers are packed full of veggies and protein rich quinoa.
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 ribs celery, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
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, drained and rinsed
3/4 uncooked quinoa
3 large carrots, grated, (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups grated reduced-fat pepper Jack cheese, divided
4 large red bell peppers
Directions
1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and saute 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
2. Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium-low and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup of cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour liquid from tomatoes to bottom of baking dish.
4. Slice red peppers vertically into halves, starting at the stem. 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 remaining cheese. Bake 15 more minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers begin to brown. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Transfer peppers to serving dish and drizzle each with pan juices.
*These stuffed peppers also freeze well for future meals!
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