Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa
I wanted a cheeseburger but all cheeseburger like options would end in soggy bread/tortilla/wrap etc., so I eventually settled on stuffed peppers with quinoa on the side.
Well, I added quinoa later because I realized I didn’t have enough food, but the result was a tasty cheeseburger adjacent meal. It was very filling and low-calorie.
I’m still working on balancing eating healthy but not making it the only thing I think about.
It’s hard.
I used ground chicken for this, but other ground meats are easily swapped in.
Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa
Ingredients
Cooking oil
1 cup of chopped onion
1 pound of ground chicken (or preferred meat)
1 ½ tsp of cumin
2 tsp of oregano
2 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of chili flakes
1 tsp of black pepper
2-3 tsp of salt
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes
½ bunch of chopped cilantro
1 ½ cups of cooked quinoa
6 - 8 bell peppers
Cheddar cheese
Directions
1. Wash and prep your ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Heat a large skillet to medium/high heat and coat the bottom with oil.
4. Sauté chopped onion for 3-4 minutes.
5. Once onion is translucent, add ground chicken. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Cook until meat is mostly browned (4-5 minutes.)
6. Toss in all of your spices and cook until meat is browned.
7. Add crushed garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes. Don’t burn the garlic!
8. Add can of crushed tomatoes and cook 2-3 minutes.
9. Finally, add cilantro, cover, and let cook for another 5 minutes.
10. Pour the meat mixture into a large bowl and add 1 ½ cups of cooked quinoa. Mix thoroughly.
11. Wash the bell peppers and remove the tops.
12. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and place your peppers in, open side up.
13. Fill your peppers with the meat/quinoa mixture. You’ll get 6-8 stuffed peppers, depending on the size of the bell peppers.
14. Top with cheese and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until bell peppers are soft and crispy.
Serve peppers with quinoa on the side and enjoy!