Quinoa & Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Normal Yoder is back :) Yup! Our local Amish Farmer's Market is finally open. I stopped by yesterday and picked up 3 fresh aromatic green peppers, a head of cabbage, some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. I decided to make some stuffed peppers for dinner last night. I looked for various recipes online and found quite a few but wanted to make something very simple. So I decided to make a simplified version of all the recipes I read. This one had 6 ingredients total and taste-wise .. it's da bomb in taste and simplicity!

Quinoa & Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: 15 min + 45 min (baking time)

Ingredients (Serves 3 or 6):

1. 3 Bell Peppers, halved, seeds removed
2. 3/4 cup Quinoa, prepare according to package instructions
3. 1 x 15oz can of Bush's Black Beans, drained and rinsed
4. 1 Medium Onion (I used white)
5. 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
6. A few sprigs of fresh cilantro, diced finely
7. Salt and Pepper, to taste 

Directions:

The stuffing

Line a skillet with water and add diced onion. Saute until translucent and add drained/rinsed black beans. Allow any excess water to evaporate, leaving the dish moist. Add Cumin seeds and saute for another couple of minutes, adding occasional splashes of water, as needed, to prevent sticking. Once cumin is aromatic, add quinoa, toss well and add finely diced herbs. The final stuffing mix should be moist but not runny. Taste test for salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare each of the peppers by cutting in half and removing seeds with a paring knife. If necessary, shave off a piece at the bottom of each pepper to make sure it sits like a flat boat. I diced the shavings into small pieces and added those to my stuffing as well. Line a casserole dish with parchment paper (or cooking spray) and set aside. Using a small spoon, fill each pepper with the stuffing, over stuffing is good as there is nothing in this stuffing to expand. Set each pepper in the casserole dish and bake uncovered for about 30-45 minutes. Typically when the peppers are done, their aroma is released and the house starts to smell like roasted/grilled peppers. Serve warm, as a side. Serve with hot sauce. 

My Assessment: This dish was really filling and very low-calorie for being so filling. We had it as our entree instead of as a side, so I served 1 whole pepper per person and I could only eat about 3/4 of it, with effort.

Nutrition Facts (Per half-pepper): Calories 162 (Fat Calories 14)
Total Fat 1.6 g; Carbohydrates 31.4 g; Fiber 6.5 g; Sugars 3.8 g; Protein 7.7 g