Posted on by Mary Visconti

Shorter days, longer nights, a slight chill in the air and changing leaves - yup, that’s Fall creeping up on us! Here is a fun Fall recipe to start getting your home feeling and tasting like Autumn. Pro tip: Get the family involved! The kids will love helping you cook and you’ll love the quality time you get together, plus the important life skill of learning how to cook that you’ll give them. 

Mexican Stuffed Peppers (Lunch or midday snack)

Prep time 10 minutes

Cook time 1 hour, 5 minutes 

Total time 1 hour 15 minutes 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa (rinsed and drained)
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 4 red, yellow or orange bell peppers - halved, seeded
  • 1 ½ cups salsa
  • 2 tbsp cumin powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 15 oz can black beans  (drained, and if unsalted, add ¼ teaspoon sea salt per can)
  • 1 cup drained whole kernel corn 

Toppings

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • Hot sauce
  • Lime juice
  • Diced red onion
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Creamy cilantro dressing
  • Chipotle red salsa

Directions

1- Put quinoa and vegetable stock to a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer. Do this until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Approximately 20 minutes. 

2- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9x13 baking sheet lightly.

3- Brush the halved peppers with a neutral, high heat oil. Avocado or coconut oil are good options. 

4- Put cooked quinoa in a large mixing bowl and the rest of the ingredients. Mix to combine the flavors and add in seasonings. 

5- Stuff the halved peppers with the quinoa mixture until each pepper is stuffed. Cover the dish with foil. 

6- Bake for 30 minutes. 

7- Remove foil, increase heat to 400 degrees F and bake for another 15-20 minutes until peppers are slightly golden brown and soft. 

8- Serve with the toppings as desired.