Southwest Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ever since I saw these for the first time on Pinterest, I have wanted to try. I always have quinoa in my cabinet usually along with a can of black beans. I bought fresh peppers a few days ago and I decided to give it a try. Stuffed peppers are great in that the stuffing possibilities are endless! Another things great about this recipe is that peppers are relatively cheap, especially the green ones which are usually under $1.00.

Ingredients

• Bell peppers (Different colors and as many as you want to cook at once, this recipe is for 6 peppers)

• 1 cup dry quinoa & 2 cups of water

• 15 oz can of black beans

• 15 oz can of corn kernels (I used a frozen bag from TJs)

• 1 jalapeño pepper (For some extra spice)

• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

• 1/2 yellow onion (OPTIONAL)

• 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (OPTIONAL)

• Seasoning (I chose cumin and crushed red pepper)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook quinoa; 1 cup qunoa to 2 cups water. Bring water to a boil then turn heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. The quinoa should absorb the water and look fluffy and light.

Step 2: Prep your peppers by cutting off the tops and de-seeding the inside. Rinse and strain your beans and corn (in my case, cook corn then strain). Chop tomatoes into halves.

Step 3: When quinoa is ready, transfer into a big mixing bowl and add all the ingredients.

Step 4: Line a baking sheet or pan with tin foil and place empty peppers on it.

Step 5: Fill each pepper with about 1/2 cup of filling, then press down with a spoon and add another 1/2 cup.

Step 6: Bake peppers for about 25-30 minutes.

Step 7: Once peppers are cooled for about 5 minutes, feel free to indulge! At this point you can top your pepper with whatever cheese you would like or even sour cream or guacamole. 

If you chose to make more than 1 or two, you can save and store them for later. Allow peppers to cool before transferring over to a container otherwise they will condensate and be soggy, which I'm sure no one would want. These bad boys were delicious! Obviously a little messy but very tasty and I really enjoyed how well the ingredients complimented each other. I didn't top my first one with cheese, but I'm thinking for my next one I definitely will because...it's cheese!! Maybe even top with some Greek yogurt to serve as sour cream!

Some health facts about bell peppers:

• They are jam-packed with vitamins and minerals (Vitamins C, E, B6 and folate to name a few)

• Very low-calorie; a medium pepper is about 28 calories

• Red peppers are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits

• The capsaicin in bell peppers are shown to reduce the "bad cholesterol", control diabetes and brings relief from pain and eases inflammation

• The sulfur in them play a protective role against certain types of cancers

Definitely try this recipe out, try a different filling if you're not keen on spicy and I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

ENJOY!!