It’s Meatless Monday! We both love stuffed peppers, but I’m not a huge fan of the ground meat and tomato sauce stuffing. This recipe uses quinoa along with chopped veggies seasoned with cumin and cinnamon.  In place of stuffing full peppers, I split them in half – still delish! Visit Whole Foods website for the original recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 7 bell peppers (1 cored, seeded & chopped; tops removed and reserved if you are filling the peppers upright, just core and seed the remaining 6)
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 pound baby spinach
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa (rinse & cook according the package directions ahead of time)
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup roasted cashews (if desired)
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring  occasionally until transparent, 8-10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, 4-5 minutes more.
2. Add carrots and chopped peppers, cook until just softened, then add parsley and spinach (in batches if needed). Let spinach wilt then stir in cinnamon, cumin, and cooked quinoa. Toss gently to combine. Add salt, pepper, and cashews (if using) and cook 1-2 minutes more. Set aside to let filling cool to just warm.
3. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 inch baking pan and set aside.
4. Divide quinoa mixture evenly among remaining 6 bell peppers (or 12 halves), gently packing it down and making sure to fully fill each pepper. Top each pepper with its reserved top then arrange them upright in prepared pan.
5. Cover snugly with foil and bake until peppers are tender and juicy and filling is hot throughout, about 1 hours. Transfer to plates, and serve.