On The Menu: Quinoa & Veggie Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers are one of my favorite meals. They do take a little bit of time to make, but when they're done they're a hearty and filling meal. They also make awesome lunch leftovers.

Until last week, we had two favorite stuffed pepper recipes that we rotated between: the classic ground beef & rice stuffed pepper, and then a slightly healthier (and fancier!) ground turkey, feta, and quinoa stuffed pepper. Both are delicious. Now we have three favorite recipes.

Last week we tried (and loved): Quinoa & Veggie Stuffed Peppers.

Man oh man these are good. Oh and did I mention that they're only 260 calories each?

The original recipe can be found here. I modified things a little bit - as usual!

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

1/2 pound sliced mushrooms

1 cup chopped carrots

7 bell peppers 

(1 cored, seeded and chopped; tops removed from remaining 6 then cored and seeded)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 pound baby spinach

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup uncooked quinoa

S&P

1/2 cup roasted cashews

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. 

(You can work on this while you're making the stuffing)

(I used half white quinoa and half red quinoa - so pretty!)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. 

Add onion and peppers and cook, stirring occasionally until transparent.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. 

Submerge the (cored & tops removed) peppers for 2 minutes.

Let them sit in a glass pyrex dish while you continue making the stuffing.

Add carrots and then mushrooms to the onions & peppers, and cook until softened.

(Time saver - buy pre-chopped carrots!)

 Add parsley and spinach.

Let spinach wilt then stir in cinnamon, cumin and cooked quinoa and toss gently to combine. 

(Side note: cinnamon & cumin seemed crazy to me when I read the recipe - believe me, they are an awesome addition! Just do it! Your taste buds will thank you.)

Add salt, pepper and cashews and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. 

Divide quinoa mixture evenly among remaining 6 bell peppers, gently packing it down and making sure to fully fill each pepper. Top each pepper with a little bit of cheese. Because cheese makes everything better. Bake for about 30 minutes.

When they're done, eat and enjoy! 

And if you're hungry enough for a second pepper, go for it and don't even feel bad about it!