My mom came over the other night for a laundry party, as we called it! I despise laundry and so sometimes my mom offers to come over, make dinner together, play cards and do laundry.

It's becoming a tradition that {fingers crossed} stays. 

Since we both love quinoa and love veggies, we decided to stuff red bell peppers with quinoa and veggies.

It came out so wonderful and was actually quite easy. The best part is how versatile it is; you can add any veggies you'd like and omit what you don't like.

Normally, I do not add celery, I am not a big celery fan unless it's covered with almond butter and honey. Or it's pushed in a juicer. But my mom swore it would be good. And of course, it was. 

We also added carrots, spinach, onion and tomatoes. Plus I had some fresh thyme that we threw in as well.

What I love about this recipe is that you just chop the veggies and add them to the uncooked quinoa and cook it all together. So everything is done together at the same time.

Unfortunately, it's getting darker later now that it's Fall. So the pictures aren't as great as I'd hope they would be. But you can still get the idea.

Quinoa Stuffed Red Peppers

serves 6-8

¼ yellow onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

6 medium sized tomatoes 

3 carrots, chopped

2 cups spinach, loose leaf

1 cup dry quinoa

2 cups water

1 Tblsp fresh herbs {thyme}

1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste

1 can black beans

6 hot house or organic red bell peppers

feta cheese

In a saucepan, add quinoa and 2 cups water. Add all of the chopped veggies, herbs and sea salt. Cook for 20 or 25 minutes until all of the liquid is gone. For added flavor, instead of water you can use vegetable stock.  

Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 350 F degrees.

Cut the tops off the red bell peppers. As shown in the photo. Remove all the seeds so that you have a clean looking cup.

When the quinoa is finished, add 1 can of black beans. Salt to taste. Stuff the peppers by layering the veggie quinoa mixture and feta cheese. If you are dairy-free and don't want to use cheese, you can eliminate the feta part.  

Lay the peppers on a baking sheet/dish and put in the oven for about 45 minutes. Until the red peppers start to brown. 

If you don't like cheese, top the final product with avocado and a bit more sea salt and pepper!

This dish is fun because you can eat it like a taco. You don't even need a spoon or fork. Just take bites!! Get messy!

Enjoy! Happy Monday!