I know what you all are thinking, this girl is obsessed with quinoa stuffed bell peppers. While I do love them, the real reason behind this post is that I hate wasting left overs! Absolutely hate it! When I was little, my parents always told me to think about all the hungry people in the world that would love to eat our left overs. I guess that’s always stuck with me. I try to used up all of my leftovers and unused ingredients. That takes some creativity! If y’all have ever seen the TV show chopped, that’s kinda what it feels like! Except I don’t win thousands of dollars and famous chefs don’t taste my dish. Which is probably a good thing! That’s why these quinoa stuffed peppers have now made two appearances. You can put just about anything in them and the quinoa take on the flavor of the dish. These quinoa stuffed peppers are filled with Italian yumminess.
I studied abroad in Florence, Italy my sophomore year of college. While abroad, I took a cooking class. Most of my cooking is inspired by the Mediterranean cuisine. These stuffed peppers are the perfect example of that. They are stuffed with mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinegar, and Italian seasoning. Soooo cheesy and yummy!! They’re super easy to make too! So next time you have some left overs, there’s no reason to waste them! Just toss them in a bell pepper, top it with cheese, and bake it! Vuola! You’ve got yourself a meal! I’d love to see/ hear about the stuffed bell pepper creations you come up with!
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp quinoa
- 1/2 cup water
- 5 mini bell peppers chopped
- 1/2 of a green bell pepper
- 1 tbsp red onion chopped
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 tsp garlic
- 3 tsp of balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook 2 TBSP of Quinoa in 1/4 cup of water (you may need to add more water as it cooks)
- Place EVOO in a skillet on medium low heat
- Once heated sauté red onions for about two minutes
- Add 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar and cook for another 1 minute
- Add mini bell peppers, garlic, salt, and pepper
- Continue to cook until tender
- Once veggies are cooked add to cooked Quinoa
- Mix in Italian seasoning, 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar, 1 TBSP mozzarella cheese, and pine nuts
- Stuff quinoa mixture into half of the green bell pepper and drizzle the top with EVOO to prevent the top from getting crispy
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
- Take out and top with remaining 1 TBSP mozzarella cheese
- Broil cheese 2 minutes (watch the whole time)
- Take out of the oven (or in my case the toaster oven)and enjoy!
Happy Holidays Friends!!
