Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa

I'm on a quinoa kick lately. I've been dying to add it to everything, and I've been using it as a substitute for rice in everything I can think of. It can be slightly messy (definitely not Stepford Wife friendly, at least not the way I make it) but really, let's be honest--that just adds to the appeal for me. Last night, going through the fridge, I saw some peppers that needed to be used pretty quickly, and the idea dawned on me: Why not stuffed peppers with quinoa? I added in Morningstar Crumbles instead of ground beef or turkey for a pareve meal, but you can totally make it a meat affair. (I love Morningstar products and eat something by them almost every day. I would LOVE to be sponsored by them one day *ahemareyoulisteningMorningstar?* What can I say? I love free food. It's worth a shot. Anywhoo...)After whipping it all together, it was a great meal. So great in fact, that I almost didn't have enough to take leftovers with me to work today. That's what I call a recipe worth keeping. (Also, no pictures. Alas.)

What you'll need:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 package of Morningstar Crumbles*
2 cans or tomato sauce (more or less to your liking)
dash each of oregano, basil, black pepper
1 red pepper, orange pepper and yellow pepper

How to do it:
In a medium saucepan, prepare the quinoa according to package directions

In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil on medium heat and sautee the onions until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add in the Crumble and spices, and let brown. Once the Crumble is cooked through, add in 1 can of tomato sauce and the quinoa. Stir until simmering, slightly thickened, and heated through.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease a baking pan. Slice the peppers lengthwise and remove seeds and membranes. Line them up in the pan, skin side down. Fill the peppers with the quinoa filling, and pour the other can of sauce over the peppers. Cook at 350 for an hour or until the peppers are very tender (if the peppers are undercooked they have a slightly rubbery quality and make your teeth squeak when you eat them and yecchhhhh).

As always, enjoy.

*You can substitute 1lb of ground beef or turkey if you prefer that. I don't know why you would, but I'm not judging.

Peace and granola,

Dalia