Quinoa and Beef Stuffed Peppers

Tonight's dinner was suppose to happen last night but in a moment of weakness I caved and we went for burgers and chicken nuggets. So I made Stuffed peppers tonight. I had 5 peppers in my fridge from my produced co-op basket from before new years (shame..shame shame). I also had a yellow squash (my personal preference is for zucchini) and some carrots and onions.  I pulled some meat out of my freezer to thaw and picked up a zucchini from the store because once I started thinking about it, I had to have it in this meal.  Aside from the zucchini everything in the meal was from my produce basket or from my shelves/freezer.

Look at the yummy veggies sauteing! Smelled so great!

Once the veggies were done sauteing, the meat was browned, and the quinoa cooked. It was time to assemble the stuffed peppers. I baked them for 15-20 minutes in an oven set to 350 and let them rest for about 5 minutes while I finished the dishes.

After I pulled them out of the oven.

Don't they look wonderful? I added cheese to only three since my husband is lactose intolerant.

And I dressed one up pretty with the melted and browned delicious cheese:

Can you see a butterfly?

EDIT: did the family like them?  My little man had a small two bites from the spoon before he didn't want any more (that's actually really good). My husband had one half pepper serving, my brother had two half pepper servings, and I also had one. The best was my brother saying that the extra left over filling would go well with the leftover refried beans and tortillas in the fridge. Guess we'll have to make this again.

So here's what you scrolled through my post to find.  The recipe:

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients for 2-4 servings with enough for left overs:

5 bell peppers of your choice, one chopped the others halved and seeded
1 zucchini, diced
1 med yellow squash (I used 1/2 a large one)
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 a medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles, drained(this brand gives the mixture a nice heat)
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup quinoa rinsed
2 cups water


Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350. Heat a medium pan on med-high with a tablespoon or two of your favorite cooking oil. Added onions and carrots. Saute for 2-3 minutes then add garlic. Cook another 2-3 minutes then add the zucchini and squash. Cook until all veggies are tender and browned a bit. Meanwhile brown your meat in a separate pan (adding salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you want while it cooks. I added a dash of onion powder, garlic powder, and Lawry's seasoning salt) and add the water and quinoa to a medium pot. Bring the water/quinoa mix to a boil, cover, reduce to medium low and cook for 15 minutes. Once veggies are cooked, add can of tomatoes to them and combine, add the meat and quinoa when they are finished. Stir until combined.

Take the mixture and spoon it into the cavities of the bell peppers and place them on a foil wrapped cookie sheet. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese if you prefer. Bake for 15-20 minutes for semi-crunchy peppers, or bake until the peppers are as soft as you want them. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.