now that i am about to start cycle four of the 17-day diet i have begun to incorporate meals that we used to eat back into our lives but with a healthy twist. take these stuffed peppers for instance, the old school recipe our grandma’s used to make had ground beef and other non-figure flattering ingredients. mine on the other hand skips the meat and adds in the super food, quinoa which packs in the protein along with the black beans. this meal was so filling and made for great leftovers.
Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
recipe adapted from good life eats
the ingredients:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped1/2 of a poblano pepper, diced
1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 – 8.5 oz. can corn, drained
1 – 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 – 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
1 1/2 cups grated Pepper jack cheese, divided
4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped1/2 of a poblano pepper, diced
1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 – 8.5 oz. can corn, drained
1 – 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 – 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
1 1/2 cups grated Pepper jack cheese, divided
4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed
Directions:
Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and poblano pepper and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
Stir in quinoa, carrots, and 1 3/4 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Combine quinoa and carrots with black beans, corn, 1 cup of cheese, and the onion mixture from the first step, . Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.
Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 40 minutes. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tablespoon of remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving
the 17-day diet version without the jack cheese or you could substitute fat-free.
As you can imagine, quinoa and lentils are a staple of my diet. I love the veggie choices you put on your blog! Good healthy stuff!!!