Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef and Quinoa

This recipe makes a big batch of stuffed peppers. I threw it together when I accidentally bought more bell peppers, not realizing I already had some, so I wanted to use them up. You can halve the recipe if you want to make less, or freeze half of the filling for a quick dinner another day. My daughter likes the filling by itself so I regularly keep filling in the freezer for her.

Stuffed Peppers

6-8 Bell Peppers, prepped for stuffing. Remove the tops, rinse out the seeds, and remove the white bits from the inside. Arrange them in a baking dish so they will stand up.

1 1/4 cups Quinoa

2 cups Water

1/2 tsp Salt

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Onion, diced

3-4 Carrots, shredded or diced

2 14oz cans Tomato Sauce (or 1 28oz can)

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

2 tsp Oregano

2 tsp Basil

1 cup Cheese, shredded - you can use Cheddar, Colby Jack, Mexican Blend, whatever

Rinse quinoa, then add to water and 1/2 tsp salt in a pot with a lid. Bring to a boil uncovered, then turn the heat down to low and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 12-15 minutes until you don't see much liquid left. Turn off the heat and let it sit with the lid still on for another few minutes. 

While the quinoa is cooking, brown the ground beef. Add the onions and carrots, and saute until softened. 

When quinoa is done, add tomato sauce and seasoning, as well as the meat and veggie mixture. Mix well. 

For each pepper, put a pinch of cheese in first. Then layer in some of the meat/quinoa mixture. Then cheese, then meat. Pack it in so the pepper is totally stuffed. End with meat mixture on top.

Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes, until the pepper is tender. Top each pepper with additional cheese and serve.