Mexican Stuffed Peppers With Quinoa Black Beans Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until water is absorbed, 10-12 minutes., Meanwhile, cut and discard tops from peppers; remove seeds. Place in a greased 8-in. square baking dish, cut side down. Microwave, uncovered, on high until crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes. Turn peppers cut side up., Reserve 1/3 cup salsa; add remaining salsa to quinoa. Stir in beans, ricotta cheese and 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Spoon mixture into peppers; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, until filling is heated through, 10-15 minutes. Top with reserved salsa.

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.).
• Pour quinoa/onion mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in black beans, tomato, green chiles and their juices, cilantro, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. If the mixture seems to dry, drizzle in a bit of olive oil (I didn't need any).
• Pour enchilada sauce into a 9×13″ baking dish. Divide filling among peppers. Nestle stuffed peppers into the enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses.
• 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.