Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

We have an overabundance of bell peppers in our fridge, and I'm not exactly sure why.  I think it's a result of three people in one house each doing their own grocery shopping.  You see, my brother and I have both taken to pretty strict diet rules based on how we want to fuel ourselves... and my dad?  Well, we're just trying to get him on board.

I used this recipe as a starting point, modified it for only two whole peppers, and added a few things.

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
You'll need:

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp vegetable bouillon
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 bell peppers, any color
• 8 baby carrots (or 1 regular carrot)
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T sunflower seed kernels
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp each of salt, dried basil, dried oregano, and paprika
• Pinch each of dried majoram, dried thyme, and cayenne pepper
• Cheese, if desired, for topping the peppers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

1. Add quinoa, water, and bay leaf to pot and bring to a boil.  When boiling, add vegetable bouillon and cook for 10-12 minutes until water absorbed.  Remove bay leaf.

2. While quinoa is cooking, cut bell peppers in half, remove the seeds, and submerge each half in boiling water for 3 minutes.  When done, lay peppers on a clean paper towel.  

3. Chop up carrots, celery, and onion and add to skillet with olive oil.  Saute for about 3 minutes.  

4. Add spices, sunflower kernels, and quinoa to the skillet and stir.  Let cook for 2 minutes.  

5. Lay peppers open side up in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Fill each half with your quinoa mixture.  

6. Cook the peppers for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  

7. In the last five minutes of baking, top the peppers with cheese if you'd like.  I added goat cheese to mine, my dad added cheddar.  To each his or her own!

I'm starting a book today called "Cooking Green.  Reducing your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen" by Kate Heyhoe.  The book was a Christmas gift from my roommate Jen-- as you can see I'm very far behind on my reading.  I'm excited to learn how to reduce the environmental impact we create just by cooking our food and pick up some new methods of cooking!