Quinoa & Pinto Bean-Stuffed Peppers

The "Quinoa & Pinto Bean-Stuffed Peppers" (page 336) is a very festive dish, especially if you use different colored peppers. Many grocery stores carry the pre-packaged, multi-pack, multi-colored peppers, a great choice for this recipe. As you may have read in some of my earlier posts, I'm not a huge fan of quinoa, but I am starting to warm up to it, the more I experiment, and the combination of ingredients for the stuffing here - quinoa, red onion, and pinto beans - was simple, but good. I did find the filling just a tad bland, however, and a bit dry, so I added ½ cup green salsa to the mixture before stuffing the peppers. This added a nice amount of moisture, and the extra flavor boost I was looking for. Most recipes for stuffed peppers call for par-boiling or quick cooking the peppers prior to stuffing and baking them, but I always skip this step. I find the peppers get too soft for my liking when doing this, and baking them in the oven once they are stuffed yields the best texture. You might end up with extra filling, which makes a nice side dish for another meal.

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

                                                                                                                        

• Omit the olive oil when sautéing the vegetables; instead use a nonstick saucepan and/or a little water, broth, or sherry as the sauté liquid.