Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

So I've been reading this book: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (a must-read!) in which he tells me to eat food. not too much. mostly plants. So while I refuse to cut out refined sugar and my beloved processed Cracklin' Oat Bran as per his recommendation, I can try to follow his advice to eat food — meaning whole foods that haven't been processed beyond recognition (sorry poptarts).

So I made these peppers using fresh vegetables, whole grains, goat cheese and fresh herbs. Michael Pollan, I think I can do this.

{Quinoa Stuffed Peppers}

Ingredients

4-6 multi-colored Bell Peppers, tops, seeds and membranes removed

2-3 tablespoons chopped onion

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup portabella mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 cans (15-oz.) tomato sauce with 1 teaspoon sugar stirred in

4 oz. goat cheese
chives, cilantro or fresh herbs of choice

Directions

Cut a thin slice from stem end of each pepper to remove the top of the pepper. Remove seeds and membrane; rinse peppers. In a large saucepan, cover peppers with water and boil for about 4 minutes. Drain.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Cook onion and mushrooms until sauce, then stir in cooked rice, salt, garlic and 1 cup of tomato sauce. Cook until hot. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stuff peppers with rice mixture. Stand peppers upright in an un-greased square baking dish. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers.
Cover and bake about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 minutes or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle with goat cheese, red pepper flakes and pepper.

These vegetarian stuffed peppers are packed full (literally) of flavor and the goat cheese just puts the whole experience over the top. I love these with sriracha, salsa, cilantro and lots of extra sauce. Who needs meat?