Food Gifts: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I love receiving food in the mail as gifts.

I received a gorgeous bag of special black quinoa from my friend Jenna and I was waiting for the right recipe to try them with.



Quinoa is that super food that is super high in protein and just so good for you.

Since they were black in color, I thought why not stuff them into yellow bell peppers for a nice contrast. and since the yellow peppers were a 1970's price of .79 a lb.!! (I am not lying), I bought a bunch. I have never seen bell peppers offered for such a low price, even at the end of the summer when they are falling off the plants. This must have been a typo.



The black quinoa tasted different from regular quinoa and I couldn't tell you why, but it was the best quinoa I have ever had (not that I have tried so many different types of quinoa in my lifetime).

I sauteed 2 shallots and mixed in some frozen corn, with some chili peppers, cheese and herbs and these made for a delicious, healthy dinner.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers:

1 cup dried quinoa, rinsed
1 tsp salt
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 shallots, chopped
olive oil
1 cup of defrosted frozen corn
4 red or yellow bell peppers, cut in half and seeded (leave stems on)
1 jalapeno pepper or hot pepper of your choice, seeded & chopped
1 1/2 cups of Mexican blend cheese (Jack & cheddar)
big handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Rinse your quinoa and cook it per package directions until the little curly-q kernels are showing.

In a small saucepan, saute the 2 shallots for a minute until fragrant.

To the quinoa mixture add the grated carrot, the cooked shallot and the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings, it may need more salt.

Slice the bell peppers in half and remove the seeds and membrane, leaving the stems attached.



Spoon the quinoa stuffing into the pepper halves and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake in a 375F oven for 40 minutes.



Enjoy!

.....and on the subject of food gifts: thank you to Colleen from Smyrna, Georgia for sending me her beautiful homemade fig jams! I can't wait to try them!

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