Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I've been meaning to make stuffed peppers for a long time, and I finally did! I had a bunch of peppers left over from our Luau because I forgot them at home and my mom had to bring me some new ones. I made it using Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Jordan's sister made a salad out of it last month and I liked it! It's an ancient grain, and a super healthy! I had to search the aisles of Sobeys, but I found it near the oatmeal after asking someone. It was a little pricey ($8.99 for the bag), but I only used about 1/4 of the bag for this recipe.
 
To cook it, you put it in a pot with vegetable broth and boil it until it's all absorbed. You fry up some vegetables (I did carrots, red onions, peppers, and I threw in some canned tomatoes too) and when the quinoa is cooked you stick it in the frying pan for a few minutes. The recipe I found online said to put the halved peppers in boiling water for about 5 minutes so that way you don't have to bake it for so long.


You fill the peppers with the mixture and bake for about 20-25 minutes. I put some goat cheese on top, because goat cheese just tastes so yummy! I cooked up some chicken breasts and asparagus to go with it. This recipe wasn't too hard, but it took a while because there were so many steps. It sure tasted good, and looked impressive!

 Quinoa Stuffed Peppers


-1 14.5 oz can (430mL) vegetable broth
-1/4 cup water
-1 bay leaf
-1 cup quinoa, rinsed 
-6 medium sweet peppers
-4 medium carrots, finely chopped
-1 medium onion, finely chopped
-1 sweet pepper, finely chopped
-1/2 can diced tomatoes
-1 tbsp canola oil
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 package goat cheese


In a small saucepan, bring the broth, water and bay leaf to a boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Discard bay leaf.


Cut peppers in half lengthwise and discard seeds. In a large kettle, cook peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse in cold water; invert onto paper towels.


In a large nonstick skillet, saute the carrots, onions, and peppers in oil until tender. Add the quinoa, tomatoes, and seasonings; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until heated through. Spoon into pepper halves. Place in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until peppers are tender. Top with goat cheese. Enjoy! Yield: 6 servings.