I cannot remember the last time I made stuffed peppers….probably because our grill has been in full force since about April…however I got a craving for them and since they fit perfectly into my PIYO meal plan I figured I’d toss it in as part of  WEEK 7.

I’ve always loved stuffed peppers but my old ones were pretty basic and quite boring – a pound of ground beef, 2 cups brown rice and a jar of spaghetti sauce. They were good but not mouth watering. So I decided to add a little spunk! I call these –

Black bean and corn quinoa stuffed peppers

Ingredients:

(okay – I always make ALOT so I can freeze and use later – so if you’d like you can half this recipe – or take my suggestion and freeze some for later!!!)

• 2 pounds lean ground turkey

• 1 can black beans, rinsed well

• 2 cups cooked quinoa (prepared according to directions…I actually made one cup of quinoa and after I added the 2 cups I still had about 2 cups left. We used it for a side later in the week but plan accordingly – you don’t want to waste!!!)

• 1.5 cups frozen corn

• 1 can petite diced tomatoes (make sure there are no added ingredients here…you should see tomatoes and ascorbic acid!)

• 1 large can tomato sauce (same as above – no added ingredients)

• 1/2 onion

• 5-6 peppers, color of your choice

• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, optional

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 TBS Wildtree Hearty Spaghetti sauce blend

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Cook quinoa according to directions

Remove and discard the tops, seeds and membranes of the peppers and place in baking dish. You can do these whole or in halves…I chose whole peppers

In a skillet over medium heat cook the turkey with diced onion until evenly browned

Drain turkey after cooking is complete and add remaining ingredients

 

Spoon mixture into peppers and top with cheese if desired

 Bake for about one hour until peppers are tender

Freeze any remaining stuffing or save for leftovers later in the week!

These will also reheat well – we ended up with two dinners and I had one lunch out of this batch!

Note: My next batch was added into some slightly spicy banana peppers – and they were AMAZING! If you like a little kick try these for sure!

 

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