Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I decided it was time for stuffed peppers, and I thought we should try a Mexican version!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1.5 cups water (or chicken or veggie broth)
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce (or salsa)
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 15-ounce can black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 six ounce sausage link (chorizo or whatever you have)3 large red, yellow, or orange bell peppers (halved, seeds removed)
• 4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded + more for serving
   

Instructions:

1. Add quinoa and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer until all liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy – about 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Cook sausage, and crumble.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish or rimmed baking sheet.
4. Mix spices into the tomato sauce.
5. Add cooked quinoa to a large mixing bowl, then add in tomato sauce, beans, and sausage, Mix thoroughly. (I mixed in 1/2 of the shredded cheese as well.) 
6. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
7. Generously stuff halved peppers with quinoa mixture until all peppers are full,
   making a small well and distributing the remaining cheddar cheese in each pepper.
8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
9. Serve with desired toppings - we sprinkled on extra cheese.
   
   

 

Carole's Notes:

We liked this! Doug says that two half peppers is a proper dinner serving, so I will probably make 4 next time.

The recipe is adapted from https://minimalistbaker.com/spanish-quinoa-stuffed-peppers/