Quinoa Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers

Sooooo... as many of you know I don't really cook. We simply survive on a stockpile of freezer meals and eggs (seriously we probably eat more eggs than any family I know).

I thought this year, I thought I would begin my adventure of learning to love to cook... but it just didn't happen.

I did however cook this real meal last week and a tray of kale chips (and two trays of burnt kale chips... but we aren't going to talk about that:)).

Anyways... This is my recipe for Quinoa Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers.

I will be honest, even though I don't cook much, I didn't use a recipe (this might be why my cooking is so hit or miss).  I just remember my mom make stuffed green peppers with rice as a kid and I thought… I could do that with red peppers and Quinoa:)

one

So first I browned a little ground beef and drained it.  Then I mixed it in a bowl with a can of stewed tomatoes.  I mixed in some spices (seriously, don't ask me how much… I don't even know… maybe I will measure next time ::).  I added Italian seasoning, garlic powder and ground cayenne pepper (we like everything spicy in our house, even BD).

two

While doing step one I put about a cup and a half of Quinoa on the stove (water to quinoa ration is 2:1 just so you know) and let it simmer for about 20 minutes… basically until it was done.  I also cleaned and cut the red peppers.  As you can see I did mine "boat" style.  This was not culinary genius, but rather my peppers were really long and skinny and they fit better in the pan this way.  And hindsight I also like how they provided more roasted red pepper per bite… and the look!

Three

One the quinoa was cooked I added it to the mixture.

four

Stuffed my peppers and threw them in the oven for about an hour at 350 (for me it was a little longer than an hour… I had some crispy quinoa edges if you look closely).

five

When they were about done I threw some cheese on top and let them broil for a minute while the cheese melted (watch very closely and don't le go to long or you ail have a burnt mess in your oven… sad but true!).

six

Enjoy! 

Linking up with meal plan monday at the organizing junkie!!!