Stuffed peppers
Every once in awhile it seems the same recipes get used over and over again. This past week, I decided it was time for a change and had been thinking about making stuffed peppers for a long time; so here is the process broken down.
My trip to the market consisted of the same items as usual; market purchases are always the base for each meal made in my kitchen. These peppers were accompanying grilled red pepper and garlic marinated chicken breasts, but consist of so much protein on their own that the chicken is not a necessary addition to the meal.
The process began with boiling water for a bamboo rice and red quinoa mixture. While the water was heating up, the peppers (two green and two red) were washed, tops were removed and the peppers were de-seeded. The rice and quinoa was then added to the boiling water, covered with a tight fitting lid and turned down to a low simmer. While the grains were cooking, zucchini, onion, garlic, and parsley were cut up.
A pot with a drizzle of olive oil was heated up and a can of diced tomatoes was added in. Freshly washed spinach was added to the tomatoes, along with cayenne pepper and chili flakes. Once the rice and quinoa mixture finished cooking, it was removed from the heat and set aside to cool down. A can of black beans was rinsed and added into a large mixing bowl, the chopped vegetables and herbs were added too, along with the cooled rice and quinoa mixture and the tomato and spinach mixture. Once mixed together, shredded hot pepper white cheddar cheese was added into the stuffing mixture, and the peppers were then ready to be stuffed.
Using a spoon, each pepper was stuffed full of the prepared ingredients, and then thin slices of the hot pepper white cheddar cheese were placed on top of the opening of the peppers.
The peppers were placed in a large round glass baking dish, uncovered and placed into a preheated oven of 350 degrees to bake for 45-50 minutes. Enjoy alone, or as a side dish.
The grocery list:
– 4 bell peppers (whatever colours you like)
– Fresh garlic
– Onion
– Spinach
– Zucchini
– Black beans
– Hot pepper white cheddar (or any cheddar, or no cheese at all)
– Quinoa
– Rice/bamboo rice
– Parsley
– Diced tomatoes
– Cayenne Pepper
– Chili flakes