Mexican Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa & Black Beans

 Photo Credit: http://www.onelovelylife.com

Mexican Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa & Black Beans

Original Recipe: http://www.onelovelylife.com/?p=4854

Ingredients:

•     4 bell peppers (any color), sliced in half stem-to-tip, seeds removed
•     1c quinoa, uncooked
•     ½ medium onion, diced
•     1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
•     1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
•     1 (4oz) can diced green chiles (don’t drain)
•     ¼c cilantro, minced
•     ¼tsp salt
•     ¼tsp pepper
•     olive oil, if desired
•     ½c Monterrey Jack, grated
•     ½c cheddar cheese, grated
•     1 recipe red enchilada sauce (or 1 (28oz) can)

Directions:

1. Add quinoa and onion to a large saucepan with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 5 minutes, cover, turn off heat and let steam 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. In the meantime, microwave pepper halves 2-3 minutes to soften slightly. (Prepared this way, the peppers should come out crisp-tender. If you want them crisper, you can omit this step.)
3. Pour quinoa/onion mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in black beans, tomato, green chiles and their juices, cilantro, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. If the mixture seems to dry, drizzle in a bit of olive oil (I didn’t need any).
4. Pour enchilada sauce into a 9×13″ baking dish. Divide filling among peppers. Nestle stuffed peppers into the enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses.
5. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and cook about 5 minutes longer. Serve peppers drizzled with enchilada sauce.