Adrianna Montano/The Mirror
The cold weather is here and cooking at home is crucial.
Staying in and making dinner at the townhouse is something to start getting used to because the cold weather will keep you in.
This was the first time I’ve ever made stuffed peppers, and — not to toot my own horn — they were pretty delicious.
They were delicious because they made the house smell tasty, a smell reminding me of home-cooked meals.
I am usually not a big fan of peppers but stuffing them with rice and meat changed my mind.
I wanted to try and make it somewhat healthy by avoiding white rice and ground beef. So, instead, I used quinoa and chicken sausage and it did the same job.
Don’t be intimidated by the word quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). It’s a grain similar to rice and has a fluffy, creamy, and slightly crunchy texture, and is a good source of protein and magnesium!
This is also something you can make a bunch of ahead of time and have them for other meals throughout the week.
Ingredients:
3 medium-sized peppers
1 Chopped Onion
1 cup Quinoa (2 cups water to cook)
3 Chicken Sausage links
Green or Red Peppers
1/4 cup of Tomato Sauce
1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/8 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
Slices Pepper Jack Cheese (melted on top)
Directions:
Set the oven to 375 degrees. To prep the peppers, cut off the top and take out the seeds.
If you want them to be on the soft side, you can steam them or let them cook in the oven before you stuff them.
Once prepped, set them aside on a baking sheet until you are ready to stuff them. Making quinoa is the same as making rice, double/twice the amount of water to grain, 2:1 ratio.
While that cooks, chop an onion and pepper and cook in a sauté pan until vegetables are soft. Add in the sausage (chopped or crumbled).
Once the quinoa and sausage are fully cooked, mix them together in a bowl, along with the tomato sauce, cheese and breadcrumbs to bind everything together.
Take the mix and stuff the peppers. If you love cheese, throw on a piece of pepper jack cheese on the top and bake away!
It should take about 15-20 minutes since the stuffing is already cooked, or take out of the oven when the cheese is perfectly melted. Enjoy!
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