Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

As a warning, I don't measure things out well all of the time, so use your best judgement. I apologize for all of the Trader Joe's talk in here- but I love Trader's and it is less than a mile away, so there will be a good amount of Trader Joe's products used.  You will find that I am adding quinoa and spinach to as many recipes as I can. Quinoa is an amazing grain that is not only tasty, but full of fiber and is a complete protein! Spinach is one of the world's healthiest foods with so many vitamins and nutrients that it CANNOT be skipped and should be added as much as possible! On that note....

My first recipe will be what I made this Easter. It is relatively simple and easy to make, but also tasty and nutritious.This meal is  inexpensive to make- I made this for my family (my husband, my 3-year and I) and 3 extra adults- so it makes a lot for little money and effort. 

Easy Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Easy Quinoa Stuffed Peppers:

6 multi-colored peppers NOTE: Peppers are significantly cheaper at the Farmer's market!!! I can get them for 3 for a $1 instead of $1.50 a piece! 

1 cup quinoa

1 organic zucchini (diced)

1 organic yellow squash (diced)

1 cup egg plant (diced)

1 small onion (diced)

2  cloves garlic (minced)

2 large handfuls of fresh spinach

1/2 c organic corn

3/4 jar salsa (I used Trader Joe's  12 oz Organic Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa) 

And desired amount of cheese (I used the Quattro mix from Trader Joe's, which is Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina,and Provolone) I just put it in until it  "looked right". But you don't need a ton- and also remember that this will be going on top of the peppers as well. 

Optional: Organic- grass-fed ground beef

Pre-heat oven to 350

  

Begin cooking the quinoa first. Instructions are here http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/basic-quinoa.php. Only for this recipe I choose to boil the quinoa in Organic chicken broth instead of water for more flavor. 

Saute diced vegetables except the garlic. Cut the onions and garlic 10 minutes before cooking- for max nutritional value. Also, Begin sauteing the veggies but leave out the garlic until the veggies are almost done- garlic burns fast and shouldn't be cooked very long. I like to grind my fresh lemon pepper on the vegetable blend, (I get my lemon pepper from Trader Joe's which has added sea salt as well. Be weary lemon pepper from other places- which often time has yellow food coloring in it.) If you are not adding ground beef to the meal add your fresh spinach here. stir in until cooked.

Typically, I probably wouldn't add ground beef into this mix- it tastes great with or without. But the people we had over were skeptical of a meatless dinner so I added the ground beef in. Cook your ground beef until almost done and then rinse off the fat. Then cook again for a  bit longer and add a little lemon pepper (I love the stuff) and the spinach- then cook a couple of minutes longer. If you're not planning on the ground beef add the spinach to the vegetable mix after the garlic is added.

Cut the peppers in half length-wise and put in a long glass pan and cook for about 8 minutes- be careful not to cook for too long! Keep a very close eye, not too soft and not too hard. Also remember that these will go back in the oven a second time- so when you take them out they don't need to be fully cooked.

While your peppers are cooking, mix the cooked quinoa, the saute mix, the ground beef/ spinach mix, together. Also, here I added my Organic frozen corn (Trader Joe's), salsa, and cheese, then I stirred it all up. By now the peppers should be ready, spoon the mix into the peppers and then sprinkle with cheese. Put back into the oven and watch the cheese on top to melt and then enjoy!

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