OOO LaLa!    Aren’t these gorgeous!?    Well, they taste just as amazing as they look!

Inspired by Kimberly Snyder.

I like to make a large batch of these stuffed peppers and have left-overs through-out the week.   Pull out of the fridge – heat up – prep a salad while the peppers are reheating and you have a fabulous, nutritious meal in 15-20 minutes.  I am ALL ABOUT planning ahead with food, so I’m not spending all my time prepping and cooking in the kitchen (which is ONE of my favorite places to be).   Make a large batch up front and you have meals for lunch or dinner for the week.  AND it tastes SO GOOD – you’ll want more of it.  This is a great meal for weight loss!

I like to use quinoa because it is an easily digestible grain.  Tip:  Soak quinoa in water for about an hour and rinse well before using.  This washes off any enzyme inhibitors that might be left on it.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

• 6 peppers (red, yellow, orange or green)
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa – soaked & rinsed
• 1 cup organic corn
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
• 1 cup scallions – chopped
• 1/2 cup basil – chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro – chopped
• sea salt – 2 -3 tsp.
• black pepper to taste
• 2 TB. cumin
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 TB.(more or less to taste) Hot Sauce – optional, but highly recommend

Fill saucepan with 2 cups water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, add the quinoa and simmer until the water is absorbed and grains are soft and translucent (about 10 minutes).  Turn the heat off and let the quinoa sit in pan with a lid on top.  Quinoa will absorb more water and become fluffier.

Cut the tops off the peppers by inserting the knife at top of pepper and make a circle.  Pull out the stem and seeds and make sure you get any hidden ones deep inside.  Holding them upside down and tapping their bottoms will dislodge any stragglers.

*I like to pre-cook the peppers for about 20 minutes by themselves to get really nice and soft.  So, go ahead and put them on a baking dish in the oven while you prepare the rest of the recipe.  (20 minutes now).

In a medium/large sized pan, saute the garlic on medium heat in coconut oil for about a  minute, then add onions, stirring until the onions are traslucent.  Add some sea salt.  Turn the heat OFF.

At this point, add the cooked quinoa and all other ingredients to the onion/garlic mixture and stir well to combine.  Adjust seasoning to taste.  You’ll want it a bit saltier because stuffing into the plain pepper will dampen the concentration of flavors. 

Next, spoon quinoa mixture into each pepper – fill it up to the top!

Put stuffed peppers back into the oven for about 15 minutes.  I like to place my peppers on a bed of lightly massaged kale (lemon juice and sea salt) topped with chopped avocado.   You don’t have to do this part – but why not live to the fullest and try it?  Your tasted buds will be delighted and thank you!

*Tip:  When re-heating these peppers the next day or so, cut them in half.  They heat more thoroughly this way and avoid the “cold center” syndrome some foods get (hot on the outside – cold on the inside).

Let me know what you think!   What do you like to do with peppers when you have a lot of them?

May the GREENS be with you!

Kibby