Stuffed Green Peppers with Quinoa…a new twist on an old favorite!

Memories of stuffed peppers in my Mother’s kitchen are sketchy, probably because I wasn’t fond of vegetables as a kid.  My taste buds have matured with age, and I love almost all vegetables.

I decided I would experiment with stuffed peppers and loved this recipe, substituting quinoa for the rice.  The result was a protein rich, yummy AND healthy dish.   When I made this recipe I only had three green peppers on hand, so I made a small meatloaf with the remaining meat mixture.  Fabulous!  This will also be a new meatloaf recipe to add to my collection.

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS WITH QUINOA

6 medium green peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 can (1 lb. 3 oz.) crushed or diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 pounds lean ground chuck
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Precook quinoa according to package directions.
• Slice off tops of green peppers and remove seeds and ribs. Rinse peppers. Chop the edible portion of the tops and set aside. Place peppers in a large pot of boiling salt water and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from water, drain, and cool slightly.

• Heat olive oil in medium size skillet; add chopped onion, celery, and pepper and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.

• In a large bowl, beat the egg together with the Worcestershire sauce. Add ground chuck, quinoa, and 1 cup of tomato mixture and mix well.
  5. Stuff peppers with meat mixture and place in greased casserole. Pour remaining tomato mixture over the top.

• Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.