Stuff A Pepper...But With What?

It's Spring and that means swimsuit season is coming. As a result I've been trying to eat healthier and a lot of times that means trying new grains and sometimes eating Vegetarian.

While I may have bacon almost every day, even the most awesome food items need a break every now and again. Normally when I stuff peppers I use rice but I've been trying to figure out a way to work quinoa into my diet more.

If you aren't familiar with quinoa, it is a grain indigenous to South America. It's gluten free, good for you, and quite tasty (the Incans regarded it as being a sacred food).

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
--2 bell peppers
--1 cup of quinoa
--1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, chopped
--1 can of black beans
--cilantro
--lime juice
--shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Slice the peppers in half from top to bottom. Remove the tops and de-seed the peppers and set them aside in an oven ready dish.

Rinse the quinoa in cold water. This is an important step as quinoa suds in water...if you add it to boiling water it will most likely boil over! Cook the quinoa according to package directions.

While the quinoa is cooking, in a medium sized bowl, mix the tomatoes and black beans together. Season with cilantro and lime juice to taste and stir together.

When the quinoa is ready, add it to the mixture and stir. I like to add in some cheese since the heat from the freshly cooked grains will melt the cheese and help make the mixture a little sticky.

Stuff each pepper half with healthy scoops of the quinoa mixture and cover with cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the peppers are tender.