Dinner, Night 1

Night 1 of the vegan challenge, my favorite stuffed peppers.  These have been a staple in my diet for quite some time now. They’re perfect for any season and you can tweak the recipe and the vegetables you use to the season and/or your liking

Vegan Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
4 large bell pepper (your choice of color)
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup black beans
1/2 cup salsa (I used Green Mountain Gringo)
1/2 cup corn (canned or thawed, frozen is fine)
sauteed veggies of your choice (I used zucchini, onion, mushrooms, carrots and broccoli)
Shredded “cheese” (I used vegan cheddar, but if you want full dairy, go for it)
cumin, salt and pepper to taste

Start cooking the quinoa (remember to rinse before you boil or it gets sticky!!)
Saute your favorite chopped fresh veggies in olive oil with fresh minced garlic.

Add salt, pepper and cumin to taste (I like a lot of cumin – at least 1 tsp)
Rinse black beans and set aside.
Cut peppers in half (lengthwise) – try to leave the stem intact so the filling doesn’t fall out and remove inside and seeds
In a large bowl mix quinoa, salsa, black beans, corn and sauteed veggies. – taste, add more salsa if you like.
Stuff peppers with quinoa/black bean mix.
Place stuffed peppers in a glass baking pan with a 1/2 inch to 1 inch of water in the bottom, cover with foil.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes to brown/melt the cheese.

Enjoy!!!