Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I'm all about quinoa lately, so I jumped at the chance to make these. Also, my mom has a bunch of green/red bell peppers from her garden, so I needed to use those. These were fabulous!

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed, drained

3/4 c quinoa

1 1/2 c water

1 1/2 c Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

salt and pepper

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion, celery and jalapeno for about 5 minutes, until soft, then add cumin and garlic and cook for an additional minute. Stir in drained tomatoes (reserving liquid) and cook for 5 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in black beans, quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup of cheese and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pour reserved liquid from tomatoes in the bottom of your baking dish.

Fill each halved bell pepper with 3/4 cup quinoa mixture and place in baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes.  Remove foil, top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese, and bake for 5 additional minutes. Enjoy!

Original recipe found here.