What to do with leftover quinoa??

After a meal the other night, I still had a ton of leftover quinoa...I always try to turn my leftovers into something new the next day, or incorporate it into whatever my next meal is. (College does that to you!)  At CSU, they have great stuffed peppers on the menu ...  I love love stuffed peppers and decided to jazz up the recipe a bit!  One of my Moosewood cookbooks had a recipe for quinoa stuffed peppers, so I decided to make some additions/substitutions and came up with this-Yes, there are a few weird ingredients to some of you in this recipe (I'm from Kansas where most food is foreign aside from meat and potatoes, so I know:-) But-no worries! I'll introduce you to these at the bottom of the recipe and you can make these peppers for yourself-Enjoy!

-This recipe is dairy free and gluten free as well

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

1 cup raw quinoa

3 medium bell peppers (any color)

3 T olive oil

4 T balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

½ tsp red chili pepper

½ tsp salt

¼ cup chopped carrots

¼ cup chopped celery

1 zucchini, shredded (do not peel)

½ block of tempeh, cubed in ½ “ pieces

3 T soy sauce

1 egg white

1 small can tomato sauce

¼ cup shredded jalapeno jack almond cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly oil a glass baking dish. 

Cook quinoa in a small baking pan.  Set aside to cool.

While the quinoa cooks, cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, cutting the stems off and seeding them.  Brush or spray the bell pepper shells with about 2 T of the oil, inside and out.  Place the cut side down on the prepared baking pan and roast for 15-20 mins until softened and slightly browned. Set aside when done.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, warm the oil and sauté the onions and garlic until softened.  Add the cumin, coriander, red chili, salt, carrots, celery, vinegar and zucchini.  Cook until veggies are very tender.  In a separate pan, sauté the tempeh pieces in soy sauce until heated, about 3 mins.  Next, add tempeh, quinoa and egg white to veggie mixture. 

Turn over the roasted pepper shells and spoon filling into each half.  Pour ~ ¼ cup of tomato sauce over each pepper half.  Sprinkle each bell pepper half with grated cheese and baked for 15-20 mins at 350 until cheese is melted.

You can subsitute ground beef or chicken for the tempeh, brown rice for quinoa, and regular cheese for almond cheese if you don't have these particular ingredients on hand.

Sauteed Veggie Mixture

Finished Product!

And....A little NUTRITION and background on these lovely ingredients :-)

Quinoa-It is a recently rediscovered ancient "grain" once considered "the gold of the Incas." Quinoa is of an unsually high protein quality; It is a complete protein, (unlike any other grain) which is great for all of you vegetarians and vegans.  Cook quinoa exactly as you would cook rice-It's great because it cooks faster than brown rice, and is a good substitute for rice in any meal.

Tempeh- Tempeh has been a staple in Indonesia for over 2000 years. It is a highly nutritious fermented food traditionally made from soybeans and its high protein content makes it a wonderful substitute for meat. It is typically made by cooking and dehulling soybeans, inoculating them with a culturing agent (like Rhizopus oligosporus), and then incubating the product overnight until it forms a solid cake.  Basically it's tofu that's fermented...and they both taste great if prepared correctly:-)

Almond cheese-basically a lactose free substitute for regular cheese for those of you with an intolerance or want a low fat, no cholesteral cheese alternative.  It's also a great source of calcium!