Quinoa & Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Eek, I am slacking on my blog updates lately.  Sorry!  Here is one of my absolute favorite meals.  It can feed the masses or make awesome left overs.  Best of all, Sofie loves it!  Here is where I found the recipe.

Quinoa is a staple in the Hegarty household.  We have replaced dishes that use pasta or brown rice with this awesome seed.  Yup, you heard it right.  Though it is cooked like a grain, it is actually a seed.  So all my peeps that like the "Paleo Diet aka Caveman Diet" will love this!

Quinoa & Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Here is what the website says about how to cook Quinoa:

"Quinoa must be washed in a strainer before cooking because it is covered with a layer of saponin. This natural coating has a slightly bitter flavor. When you rinse quinoa, it looks a bit frothy in the water. This is the saponin washing away. Quinoa is versatile in the kitchen. After washing, place 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water or vegetable stock in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and lower the heat to simmer. It takes about 20 minutes to cook until tender.  When cooked, the quinoa has a rich nutty flavor." (citronlimette.com)

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
 ½ cup chopped onion
½ cup diced carrot
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound lean ground turkey
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup tomato sauce
2 large bell peppers, washed
2 cup cooked quinoa
½ chicken broth
¼ cup shredded 2% reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

 Instructions:

1. Cook quinoa according to instructions.  It takes about 15-20 minutes.  While it cooks, cut the peppers in half, lengthwise & remove seeds. 
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 TB olive oil.
3. Add onion, carrot, garlic and cook 2 minutes.
4. Add ground turkey, salt, pepper, garlic powder and brown several minutes until cooked through.
5. Add parsley and tomato sauce.
6. Mix well. Combine cooked quinoa and meat together.
7. Place in a baking dish. Spoon the meat mixture into each pepper half.
8. Pour ½ cup chicken broth on the bottom of the pan. Cover tight with aluminum foil and bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. Top with cheese. (optional)

 Ta da! We also love to top it off with some hot sauce (Cholula please!)

Our little health nut!

My goal is to post one recipe each week on my blog and will eventually have them all on my FITspiration Mom Pinterest page.

Hope everyone is having an amazing week so far!