Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Hi everyone! Ok I’ve been a busy cooking bee- but a lazy blogger. (for real it’s embarrassing how little I’ve blogged lately- there is reason for it but I’ll save that for a later post!)Needless to say, Β I can’t wait to share some of my creations with you πŸ™‚ This particular recipe is one of my favorite recent ones! So tasty, easy, and healthy. The perfect trio for an awesome recipe. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

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Gorgeous right?!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 (4-ounce) can green chiles
  • 1 cup corn kernels
  • 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I love cilantro so I always add more)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion or garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika, or more to taste
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 6 bell peppers, tops cut, stemmed and seeded

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with tin foil.
  2. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, green chiles, corn, beans, tomatoes, cheeses, cilantro, cumin, garlic, onion and chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper, to taste.
  3. Spoon the filling each each bell pepper cavity. Place in prepared baking dish, cavity side up, and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through, about 25-30 minutes.
  4. Serve immediately and enjoy! Β πŸ™‚
  5. PS. I only cooked 4 peppers since there fewer people I was feeding but then I put the extra quinoa mix in a baking dish, topped with a little more cheese and baked along with the peppers. This was great for lunch throughout the week πŸ™‚ As you can see there was quite a bit of extra “stuffing” so I think you could do more than 6…but experiment! πŸ™‚

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I just love how pretty this dish is! So colorful and fresh looking and not to mention out of this world delicious. This is a recipe you could seriously have so much fun with and experiment with different flavor combinations and ingredients. Also easily could be vegan with some small adjustments. Please stop back and share your own concoctions πŸ™‚

As always, thanks for stopping by!

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Lemon Baked Tilapia with Spinach & Carrot Lentils

Lemon Baked Tilapia with Spinach & Carrot Lentils

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Lentil Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 quart water
  • 1/2 cup lentils
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 ounces spinach, stems removed, leaves washed well

Directions

  1. In a large saucepan, combine the water, lentils, carrot, onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, discarding bay leaf.
  2. Use a paper towel to wipe out any water from the saucepan. Add oil, and return pan to medium heat. Stir in the lentils, vegetables, and spinach. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve πŸ™‚

* Later in the week I made this recipe again but added ground turkey and just had it for lunch a couple days at work- it was equally amazing! Seriously so delicious!!!

Tilapia Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 tilapia filets (*or really you could adapt this to however many you want to make as ingredient measurements aren’t exact)
  • Lemons (I used 1 lemon- the juice of 1 half and then sliced the other half)
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Line a glass baking dish with foil and grease with non-stick spray or olive oilΒ 
  3. Put the fish in the dish
  4. Pour lemon juice over the fish filets
  5. Season the fish with salt and pepper(you can also really use any spices you choose)
  6. Place the slices of lemon over the fish
  7. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

There you go! Seriously so easy, and healthy and most importantly delicious!! Hopefully you guys enjoy as much as we did.

Thanks for stopping by πŸ™‚

xoxo

G

Vegan Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili

Vegan Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili

makes 6 hearty bowls of chili

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Ingredients:

one 29 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
one 6 oz can tomato paste
32 oz vegetable stock
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup dry quinoa
salt and pepper to taste
avocado, cilantro for garnishΒ  (optional)

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Then What To Do:

Heat oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium low heat. Add onions and cook until soft and they start to turn brown (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic, and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Then add the following: tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the beans, stock, and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper . Cook for about 5 minutes and add the quinoa. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes – 30 minutes(Mine took closer to the 3o minute mark that the 15), stirring frequently, until quinoa and potatoes are cooked. The chili will have also thickened- if it has become too thick for your tastes you can add a bit of water. Your’e done! Now, top with avocado and/or chopped cilantro & try not to eat it all! πŸ™‚

*I really like hot foods! (hot as is spicy) so I added a dried chili pepper to this as well. I just kind of crushed/chopped it up and added it the same time as the beans, stock etc…Hope you enjoy!

xoxo

-G