Yum Yum: Stuffed Peppers

Hey folks! Today I am expanding your food knowledge. I know, you're excited. You should probably start salivating now. Before you know it, I'm going to have you guys trained like Pavlov's dogs... There's a new blog post?! I hope it's a new recipe! Bahaha, now you know my plan to gain world [food] dominance.

Anyway, have you heard of quinoa? I feel like it's suddenly been popping up in recipes I look at, especially healthy ones. It made me wonder what the heck this new grain quinoa is. Turns out, it's not new at all. I guess I'm just behind the times. My super reliable Wikipedia search tells me that quinoa has actually been a staple in South American foods for about 6,000 years. Crazy. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that I thought it was a grain. It is not. It is actually a "chenopod," which means it's related to foods like beets, spinach and tumbleweeds (tumbleweeds? That's what it said. Can you eat a tumbleweed? Perhaps that will be my next food knowledge exploration). So, as you can imagine, it's packed with protein. It's gluten-free. It's filled with dietary fiber, magnesium, and iron. In other words, maybe you should consider adding this to your grocery list.

Today I decided to try this mystery food and see what all the hype is about. Thanks to a recipe in Shape Magazine (I know, I'm exponentially cooler now that you know I subscribe to Shape), I ate this for lunch:

It's a Cheese- and Quinoa-stuffed Red Pepper. And... It was delicious. And 4 hours and a workout later, I am still not hungry, which is pretty much unheard of for me. Here's how to do it:

1/4 cup dry quinoa
1 large red bell pepper
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 c. shredded carrots
1/4 c. baby spinach
1/4 cup sliced white button mushrooms
1/2 tsp. salt-free Italian herb seasoning (I just did a mix of basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano)
1/4 c. finely shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place quinoa and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until all water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Set aside and keep covered.
While the quinoa cooks, use a sharp knife to cut the top off the pepper and remove the seeds and membranes; keep the pepper whole. Set aside.
Heat a medium skillet on medium-high; add olive oil. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, spinach, mushrooms, and seasoning, and saute until veggies are slightly tender, about 4 minutes.
Transfer sauteed veggies to a bowl. Mix in cooked quinoa, and gently fold in cheddar.
Fill pepper with the mixture. Place in baking dish and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until pepper is slightly charred. Serve warm or at room temperature.