Stuffed Bell Peppers

There are so many different ways you can make stuffed peppers. In my previous pepper post, we used Poblanos and stuffed them with rice and chicken. This time I used Bell Peppers and stuffed them with quinoa and black beans. I also used some of the hot sauce we had left from our wedding. We had a Mexican Buffet and gave our guests bottle of hot sauce we had personalized to say "Harper's Hotsauce." 

This is a really good vegetarian recipe and since lents start next week and we are giving up meat again, we will probably keep this on our list of things to make.

Ingredients
4 medium to large bell peppers (any color)
1 cup uncooked quinoa
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained
1 can of diced green chilies
1 cup of shredded cheese (such as cheddar or monterey jack or mexican style)
1 ½ tbsp of lime juice
¾ tsp of cumin
½ tsp of chili powder
½ tsp of kosher salt
¼ tsp of pepper
3 tsp of hot sauce

Directions
Cut tops off of bell peppers and scoop out insides. Place in a microwavable and oven safe dish deep enough to fit peppers. Fill dish with about a cup or so of water depending on dish size (there should be about an inch of water).

Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in it. Microwave on high for about 5 minutes or until peppers are softened.  Remove peppers from dish, discard water, and place peppers back in.

Cook quinoa according to package directions.Cook onions and garlic in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes. Mix onions, garlic, and rest of the ingredients into the cooked quinoa. Stuff each pepper with a couple spoonfuls of the mixture and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream, jalapeno slices, and extra hot sauce if desired.

(These are the hot sauces we gave out at our wedding!)

Recipe source: Harper's Original