Recipe Redux: Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa & Lentils

I am absolutely excited to officially be a member of "Recipe Redux". What an honor and privilege to be part of a group of dedicated registered dietitians in creating healthy and delicious recipes. This is my first contribution to the group.

The theme for this month is legumes and beans created in a festive manner. Since I love the wonderful taste of lentils, I decided to create a recipe centered on lentils embedded on top of a quinoa base stuffed in a beautiful green pepper. For my recipe I used green peppers and green lentils sprinkled with red pimientos on top.  However, you can also switch up this recipe by using red peppers and red lentils and sprinkling it on top with green onions to create a festive look.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked lentils
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups water
2 tsp McKay's Beef-Style Powdered Broth
1 tsp mushroom seasoning


1 cup uncooked quinoa
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 cups water
2 tsp McKay's Chicken-Style Powdered Broth
1/3 cup diced tomatoes
2 tsp of lemon juice
Salt to taste (optional)


6 green bell peppers
1 tbsp of olive oil
very slight pinch of salt and pepper


Directions:


Preheat oven at 325 degrees F. Pre-grease a cookie sheet or pizza tray with canola oil. Set aside.

Start the lentils first, since it takes longer to cook. Fill a sauce-pan with water and place on medium heat. Add lentils and powdered McKay's Beef-Like broth and stir. When water is boiling, bring down heat a little and cook until lentils are very tender. This may take anywhere between 30 to 40 minutes or so. 

While lentils are cooking...

 ...you can start chopping up the onions and sautee them. Set aside. Check lentils in the mean time for tenderness. If water running low, add just the right amount of water to keep it cooking. When tenderness is achieved and a little water is still visible, add and stir the sauteed onions along with the mushroom seasoning. Stir well. Set aside when done.

Quinoa doesn't take as long to cook. In a different sauce pan, pour in 2 cups of water with 2 tsp of powdered McKay's Chicken-Like broth. Stir. Add in quinoa. Boil for about 15 minutes or so until you see the rings appear on the quinoa.

While quinoa is cooking...

...chop up garlic and sautee. Set aside. When little water is still visible and almost gone from quinoa, add and stir in the garlic and tomatoes. Add the lemon juice and stir the entire mixture. Set aside.

After washing the peppers, carefully cut off the tops of the green peppers. Clean out the inside of the peppers. Brush the outer skin of the green peppers with olive oil mixed with a very slight pinch of salt and pepper (I only have 3 green peppers pictured here, but the amount of lentils and quinoa will fill up six green peppers.)

Fill up half way the green peppers with the quinoa mixture. Pack it down well while filling up half way.

Fill up the rest of the green peppers with the lentil mixture. Pack it down well and pile it up.

Place pimientos on top of stuffed bell pepper.

Place and bake in oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

 After removing from the oven and allowing to cool a little, your stuffed green peppers will be ready to be transferred to your serving dish and is ready to be served.

These stuffed green pepper with lentils and quinoa comes packaged with vitamin C, fiber, protein, and folate. This entree presents a power-house of nutrients. Enjoy!