Stuffed Peppers

We love stuffed peppers and I had been getting the ones already made at Publix. But sometimes I had trouble with them...they're all ground beef, no filler or vegetables. Really heavy for Prissy Pouch. So the other day I saw some really pretty green peppers at the store and decided to make up my own stuffed pepper recipe. So tonight that's just what I did!

Stuffed Peppers

2 medium green peppers
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup beef broth
1/2 pound lean ground beef (you can also use ground chicken or turkey)
1/2 cup mixed vegetables (you can use any vegetables you like...I used frozen zucchini, yellow squash, and sliced mixed peppers)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Sargento reduced fat Mexican blend)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin
ketchup
8 oz tomato sauce, optional
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F.

Quinoa: Using the beef broth in place of water, cook quinoa according to package directions. Fluff with a fork and let sit for 15 minutes.

Beef Mixture: In a sauce pot, brown ground beef (covered) until about halfway cooked. Add vegetables and seasonings to taste. Re-cover and continue cooking until ground beef is fully cooked but still very moist and vegetables are soft. Using a wooden spatula or spoon, chop up the vegetables to make stuffing the peppers easier. Remove from the heat. Add cheese and quinoa and about 1-2 tablespoons ketchup. Mix, then taste seasonings. Add seasonings if needed.

Peppers: Rinse and dry peppers. Cut tops off and take out flesh and seeds. If the peppers don't stand up straight, cut a thin slice off the bottom until they're relatively upright. It doesn't matter if you cut through a little. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in a glass pie plate or small, shallow baking dish and use a paper towel to wipe the olive oil around the pie plate. Use the oil now on the paper towel to wipe the outside of the peppers. Place the peppers in the pie plate and, using a teaspoon, put the meat mixture into the peppers. Press down lightly after every couple of spoonfuls to get rid of air bubbles. Stuff until you have a rounded top on the pepper. Drizzle a little ketchup on the top of the meat mixture. You can put more, less or none...it doesn't matter! Pour the can of tomato sauce around the peppers and sprinkle some seasoning over the sauce. You really don't need the tomato sauce...I use it because Bob likes it that way. Bake at 350F for about 45-50 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: If you use ground chicken or turkey, you can use chicken or vegetable broth instead of beef broth to cook the quinoa. You can also make this vegetarian if you want to. Use more vegetables to have the same volume. Steam them with the seasonings then chop and add the cheese and quinoa.