This is a quick and easy recipe that is actually pretty healthy too if you don’t over do it on the cheese. I love to use different colors of peppers for a really pretty presentation. They are always a big hit so I usually try and have one bell pepper (2 halves when prepared) for each person. They freeze okay too for about 4 weeks.
Serve these with a salad and you have a lovely high protein but meat free meal. In a pinch, the stuffing is also used in the small sweet peppers that you can get usually bagged in the salad section of your store. I have also cooked these on the BBQ using a wire rack.
Serving for Two – Four adults
Ingrediants
4 bell peppers (any color), sliced in half stem-to-tip, seeds removed
1c quinoa, uncooked
½ medium onion, diced
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 (4oz) can diced green chiles (don’t drain)
¼c cilantro, minced
¼tsp salt
¼tsp pepper
olive oil, if desired
½c Monterrey Jack, grated
½c cheddar cheese, grated
1 small can red enchilada sauce
Directions
1. Add quinoa and onion to a large saucepan with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 5 minutes, cover, turn off heat and let steam 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. Microwave pepper halves 2-3 minutes to soften slightly. (Prepared this way, the peppers should come out crisp-tender. If you want them crisper, you can omit this step.)
3. Pour quinoa/onion mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in black beans, tomato, green chiles and their juices, cilantro, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. If the mixture seems to dry, drizzle in a bit of olive oil (I didn’t need any).
4. Pour enchilada sauce into a 9×13″ baking dish. Make sure the bottom is coated. Divide filling among peppers. Place stuffed peppers into the enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese (both kinds).
5. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and cook about 5 minutes longer. Serve peppers drizzled with enchilada sauce. If you are a lover of cheese, you can add more!
Written by Richel, Free Stuff Finder Contributor
