Curried Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

We had a crazy long/busy weekend! I'll have some pictures & stories of our shower renovation up soon. My original plan was to have grilled pizza on Saturday night, but when we realized how long it was going to take to finish the shower, we decided not to take the time.

Sunday night came along, and we still needed every minute we could get, so I changed plans & made these stuffed peppers. They were very easy - only about 30 minutes hands-on time. The curry flavors went very well with the quinoa & pepper, & even provided a subtle heat to the dish. These peppers are packed with healthy protein (from the quinoa) & veggies, not to mention all of the flavor!

You can see that they look a little charred. I like my peppers a little crispy, & the pieces of swiss chard that were on top turned black. If you would prefer yours to be slightly less done, just bake for less time. The filling is pre-cooked, so as long as they are heated through, the baking time is adjustable. Just note that the less time you bake them for, the less cooked the pepper will be.

Curried Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4-6

1 c quinoa

1 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk

1/2 c water

4-6 bell peppers, depending on their size

1 tsp. coconut oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tomatoes (or about 1 1/2 cup), chopped (or a 14 oz. can of diced)

1/3 c peanut sauce

1 T red curry paste

3 T nutritional yeast

3 T curry powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c swiss chard, chopped (or substitute spinach)

In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa, almond milk, &water. Bring to a boil, then cover & simmer for 15 minutes.

Core peppers by cutting a wide circle around the stem. Pull out all seeds, leaving hollow peppers. Cut the stem out of the lids & chop the remaining pieces. Spray a 9"x9" pan with cooking spray & place hollowed peppers in it, upright. Preheat oven to 350.

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet (I used a cast-iron pan) over medium heat. Add onions & pepper pieces. Cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic & cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, peanut sauce, red curry paste, nutritional yeast & spices. Stir to combine, then add cooked quinoa. Once mixture is heated through, removed from heat & stir in swiss chard.

Spoon mixture into hollowed peppers, dividing evenly.* Bake for 40-45 minutes.

*I started out with 4 peppers & when I started adding the filling, I realized I had enough for a 5th. If your peppers are smaller, you may have enough to fill 6.