Another Great Vegetarian Recipe

The other night I tried out a new non-meat recipe for Marshall and I.  I think that the recipe comes from the Food and Wine magazine but not for certain.  I attempted to track it down online but couldn't find this exact one.  I did, however, find a million other recipes for the same dish that all look pretty spectacular.  Since it was so tasty, with the husband in agreement, I knew I had to share it with all of you.  (Btw, I substituted spanish rice for the quinoa since I didn't have much luck with the last dish with quinoa I made...sorry Mom)  If you make it with quinoa, it is a gluten-free meal.

Okay so here it is:

I apologize for the horrible photo...I'm gonna blame the lighting on this one;)

 Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers
(serves 8)

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion (I used sweet), minced (about 1 cup)
2 ribs celery, minced (1/2 cup)
1 Tbs. ground cumin (this added a unique flavor)
2 garlic cloves, minced (2 tsp.)
1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2-15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1-15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup quinoa (I substituted spanish rice)
3 large carrots, grated (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
4 large red bell peppers

Note:  I halved this entire recipe and it fed my husband and I for 2 nights...and we can eat a lot

1.  Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and celery, and cook 5 min.  Add cumin and garlic; saute 1 min.  Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes.  Cook 5 min. until most of the liquid has evaporated.
2.  Stir in beans, quinoa (or rice), carrots, and 2 cups water.  Cover, bring to boil.  Reduce heat to med-low and simmer about 20 min. or until quinoa (or rice) is tender.  Stir in 1 cup of the cheese.
3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Pour reserved liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.
4.  Fill each half bell pepper with heaping mixture and place in dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.  Uncover; sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. remaining cheese (we used more).  Bake for another 15 min. or until top is browned.  Let stand for 5 min.


Yummy!!!

Enjoy!

Mommy Bridget