Food-Lovin’: Southwest Chicken & Quinoa-Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ummm, can you say delish?? I can! I took a recipe I found on Pinterest and made some of my own little changes to it. I’ll add the link to the original at the end of the post. Also, be forewarned- because we have a tight grocery budget and schedule, when I cook I tend to cook in large amounts so we can spread it out over a few days…so feel free to half my recipe if you try it out.

Ingredients you’ll need:

7 cups cooked quinoa (soo…3.5 cups uncooked + 7 cups water + 14 tsp Orrington Farms Chicken Broth Base)
2 4oz cans of green chiles, chopped
1 can corn
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained & rinsed
1.5 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
6-8 Chicken tenderloins cooked & shredded
4 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp cumin
2-3 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
14 green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, & halved.
Extra shredded cheese to top off the peppers

Prep time: 30-40 minutes; Bake time: 20 minutes; Serves: 28.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking pan or casserole dishes w/ non-stick spray.
Rinse the bell peppers, stem, half, & de-seed them. Remember, if you’re a fan of composting,
this is a great recipe to create a compost container so you can put the extra parts in the compost. Also, while cutting the bell peppers, keep a lookout for any bad spots that need to be removed.
Place halved peppers on the baking sheet/in the casserole dishes & bake in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
While the peppers are cooking, cook the chicken tenderloins (don’t overcook them since they’re going to go back in the oven…you don’t want them to end up too dry) and the quinoia. Remember, cook the quinoa in the chicken broth, this will enhance the overall flavor of the finished dish. Follow the instructions on the quinoa container to cook.
While the peppers, quinoa, & chicken are cooking, start combining the other ingredients in a LARGE mixing bowl: combine the green chiles, corn, beans, tomatoes, cheeses, cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, & pepper.
Once the chicken is finished, shred it in a smaller bowl & add to the large mixing bowl. Add the 7 cups of cooked quinoa, also. Using a soft spatula, mix everything together in the large bowl.
Spoon the mixture into each bell pepper half. Be careful, there may be pepper juices in the bell pepper halves. Try not to dump it, this will help keep the mixture from drying out when it cooks again
Cover the top of each bell pepper with shredded cheese.
If cooking on a baking sheet, cover with tinfoil to prevent the peppers from drying out. If cooking in casserole dishes, make sure to cover with the lids. Place back in oven and cook for 20 more minutes at 350 degrees F.
Serve & enjoy!!