quinoa is more than just trendy

I love quinoa guys. Not just because it is the cool thing to do either, I just think it is the cat's ass.

I swap it for rice all the friggen time and I just love it. They say its good because it has lots of protein and all that jazz but let's be honest we really all love it because it tastes good and it's what all the cool kids are doing.

Well not the real cool kids, the real cool kids don't eat gluten or they are paleo or whatever.

Anyway, I got my qunioa fix the other day in the form of stuffed peppers and they were bad ass if I do say so myself.

 

 

You Will Need:

(makes 2-3 servings)

-2 bell peppers (I went wild and did one red and one green)

-1/2 pound ground chicken

-3 cloves of garlic

-1/4 cup chopped onion

-1 can diced tomatoes

-Cayenne pepper

-Honey

-Salt and pepper

-3/4 cup cooked quinoa

Directions:

-The thing that made this batch of peppers so friggen awesome was that I roasted the peppers in advance. It gives them a lot more flavor and keeps the filling from drying out. So all I did was rinse and dry my peppers and then place them on a sheet pan (whole) drizzled a smidge of olive oil on them and roasted them for about 20 minutes at 350. Check them from time to time you want them to get a little charred but not totally falling apart because you still need to stuff um.

-While your peppers are roastin, heat some olive oil in a skillet and add your ground chicken and onion. Season with salt, pepper, and as much cayenne as you can handle (for me that is like 30430 shakes because I like it hot).

-Once your chicken is thoroughly cooked add your garlic and can of tomatoes. Squeeze in about 1/2 tbs of honey and continue to simmer. While you are cooking your chicken prepare 3/4 cup of quinoa according to the package (it's similar to rice) and don't forget to keep your eye on those peppers.

-Once the qunioa is done add it to the skillet and simmer in the mixture for a few minutes.

-When your peppers are done take them out of the oven and allow to cool. Cool off your chicken mixture as well.

-When both are cooled slice your peppers in half lengthwise (making four cups) and fill with your chicken filling.

-You can make these bad lads up in advance so you can just pop them into the oven when you are ready to eat, or if you want to do it all in one step just be careful handling the hot peppers and be careful they don't tear.

-The last step is to bake the peppers with the filling. Everything is cooked so you just need to heat. I left mine in the 350 oven for about 20 minutes and added a little shredded cheese for the last ten minutes. I served them up with mashed pataters and they were divine.