Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa and Kale

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Around the holidays, we all know that there is an abundance of sweets and nibblies on the go and it is so easy to overindulge so it is nice to come home to a really healthy, filling meal. At our house, stuffed peppers are on the menu every couple of weeks! One of the reasons I started making peppers was because my partner mentioned one day that when he was a young boy playing hockey, he was billeted with this portuguese family and the mother made stuffed peppers all the time and it was one of his favorite meals. So now they are one of his favorite meals at our home 🙂

I have bought stuffed peppers from the big box stores but found that they were too salty for our taste buds and it is so easy to make them yourself anyways. You can adjust what seasonings you put in, the amount and type of ground meat, the vegetables (mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, kale, etc) and grains (rice, quinoa, etc), the type of tomatoes you use (diced, stewed), and cheese (cheddar, provolone, swiss). So every time you make them, they are different!

Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa and Kale (makes 8 pepper halves)

4 peppers, washed and cut in half
drizzle of olive oil
2 cups water
1 cup kale
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
small bag of kale or spinach, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp basil (1/2 tsp for vegetable mixture, 1/2 tsp for meat)
1 lb ground turkey
1 28oz can diced tomatoes, drained (Save liquid)
cheese, any kind for melting

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put cut peppers in an casserole dish, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Add water to pot, bring to boil, add Quinoa, cover, reduce heat and simmer until done, about 15 minutes. Set aside. (Makes about 2 cups)

Add olive oil to large, deep skillet. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms and spices. Cook until mushrooms are tender about 10 -15 minutes. Add Kale, cook until softened, about 3 – 5 minutes. Set aside.

Cook ground turkey until done, drain and add basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add vegetable mix to cooked ground turkey. Add can of drained tomatoes. Stir to combine. If you find the mixture too dry, add a little of the juice from the tomatoes. Season to taste.

Using a large ice cream scoop, fill peppers. Really top them up, I usually use 2 scoops per pepper. Cover with foil and bake in oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and add cheese. Put back in oven for about 5 minutes to melt cheese.

NOTE: I’ve also frozen these peppers and they turned out great. Cook the empty peppers, fill them with vegetable / meat mixture, do not bake them again. Just let them cool and freeze them. Thaw before baking. Bake as above.

Enjoy! 🙂