Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I had some tomatoes that I needed to use.  Given that Jeremy doesn't like the taste of raw tomato, I decided to cook them down and use them in a stuffed pepper filling.  I've been trying to find more uses for quinoa and since I also had some leftover chicken (from the whole bird I roasted about a week ago) I came up with this recipe to combine them all.

This turned out really well.  Jeremy thoroughly enjoyed it and it was quite filling. One pepper each (with a little extra filling on the side) was a great dinner.  This didn't make any leftovers for us but since I've made quite a few meals recently with leftovers it's not a bad thing that I don't have to find any more room in the fridge. :)  This recipe could certainly be scaled up to feed more people though.

Because I had chicken already cooked, I just stirred that in at the end.  You could easily use rotisserie chicken or cook some while the rest of the filling was cooking.  This could also be made vegetarian by substituting other veggies, cheese, or tofu/tempeh for the chicken (and replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock or water).

If you don't have quinoa on hand, you could certainly substitute rice or barley or any other grain.  The amount of liquid and the cooking time may need to be adjusted.  I've only recently started using quinoa but I love its chewy texture.

Overall this was a very healthy meal that was really easy to prepare.  While it took a bit of time, most of that didn't require attention since it was just sitting in the oven for nearly an hour.  Definitely a meal I'd make again. :)

Recipe:
3 tomatoes (I had two tomatoes on the vine and 1 roma)
1 small onion
2 green bell peppers
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 c. quinoa (uncooked)
1 1/3 c. chicken stock, divided
2 tbs. tomato paste
1 c. shredded chicken (I used all white meat)
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dice the tomatoes and the onion. Cut the tops off the peppers and dice the pepper tops (leaving the rest intact -- set aside for later).
2. Place a sauce pan over medium heat.  Add 2 tbs. olive oil. Add the tomatoes, onion, diced peppers, and garlic.  Mix to combine.  Add crushed red pepper, black pepper, salt, oregano, and parsley.  Saute for approximately 5 minutes until the veggies begin to get tender and most of the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated.
3. Stir in the tomato paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes until it disappears and cooks out a bit.
4. Add quinoa and 2/3 c. chicken stock. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for approximately 15 minutes until the quinoa gets tender and white strings appear from the quinoa.
5. Stir in the shredded chicken.
6. Spoon the filling into the peppers and place in a deep casserole dish. Spread any remaining filling around the peppers and pour over the remaining 2/3 c. chicken stock.
7. Cover the casserole dish with a lid or foil and bake for 50-60 minutes until the peppers are tender, removing the lid for the last 10-15 minutes.
8. Serve and enjoy.