Thankfully, this weekend was spent in the security of our home (or outdoors in the gorgeous weather), as opposed to last weekend where we feared for our lives in a Minnesota monsoon.
Highlights of the weekend include our 1st trip (well, 2nd) to the Sioux Falls farmers market, eating delicious Mexican food and finishing another book. We live on the edge, I know.
Back to the Mexican food. Dillon and I are all about supporting local business and will (almost) always choose a cozy mom & pop over an Applebees filled with screaming children. However, we have not been able to find a local Mexican restaurant that fulfills our margarita, creamy queso and spicy vegetable desires.
So, Saturday night we headed out with some friends to Chevy’s, a Mexican chain restaurant that we were told resembles Carlos O’Kelly’s. I’m almost embarrassed to say this, but this was the best Mexican food we’ve had in town! The chips were warm, the queso was creamy, the margaritas contained tequila. Mmm Mmm. For the record, I had the Farmers Market Quesadilla. Holy Yum!
Anywho, here’s what we made with our loot from the farmers market:
Quinoa + Veggie Stuffed Bell Peppers
Yields 6 peppers
What you’ll need:
– 3 Bell peppers
– 1 cup quinoa
– Veggies of your choice (I used approx. 1/2 onion, 1 1/2 C. zucchini, 2 ears of sweet corn & 1/2 jalpeno)
– 1 garlic bulb
– 2 Tbsp. butter (for sauteing)
– Fresh parmesan cheese
What you’ll do:
1. First, you want to prepare the quinoa.
Side note: I’ve heard a lot about quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) and finally decided to give it a go. Quinoa is a grain that can be a substitute for rice, breadcrumbs, etc. But, it is soooo good for you! It is considered a complete protein and contains other nutrients such as amino acids, dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. Plus, it’s gluten free. Basically, quinoa rocks. You can read more about it here.
So, back to preparing the good stuff. Soak 1 cup of quinoa in 1 1/2 cups of cold water for 15 minutes. Once they’ve soaked, turn up the heat! Once your water begins to boil, add a lid to your pot, turn your heat down to a simmer and leave them alone for 20 minutes. After they’ve simmered, remove them from the heat (but don’t take off the lid!) for 5 minutes.
2. In the meantime, chop your veggies.
3. Cut your peppers in half and hallow them out.
4. Saute your veggies in the butta.
5. Fluff your quinoa. Once it’s been off the heat for 5 minutes or so, fluff it with a fork (like you would with rice).
6. Stuff your peppers! To make things easier, I combined my veggies and quinoa into one pot and spooned the mixture into each pepper.
7. Grill ’em! Turn on just 1/2 of the burners and heat the grill to 350 degrees. Place the stuffed peppers over the burners that are not on. Shut the lid and let them sit for 10-15 minutes.
8. Remove from the grill and top them with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
We served them with some grilled red potatoes and a glass of chilled Summerset Vino Rosso. We plan on using the leftovers tonight by chopping them all up and using them in a salad.
Dinner was promptly followed by wedding cake and vanilla ice cream, of course.
And, just because I know you’ve missed her, here’s a shot of our child.
Seriously, how can you resist that face?
Let’s Talk.
1. Live in Sioux Falls? What’s your favorite Mexican restaurant in town?
Don’t live in Sioux Falls? Where should I visit when I’m in your town?
2. Have you used quinoa before? How have you used it?
Thanks for the recipe. Have used quinoa before but hadn’t found many recipes that I like. I also really like peppers so I’m looking forward to trying this.
As for Mexican restaurants in town, there are two that I really like:
1. Inca
2. Taqueria Nikki’s
You can’t go wrong with either one.
Thanks for reading, Nathan! I hope you enjoy the peppers – they were delicious & so easy to make too! You’ll have to let me know how it goes.
Also, thanks for the restaurant suggestions! We will definitely have to check these out. Any excuse for chips & salsa is fine by me!
I need to try this recipe. We have only made quinoa once and did not fall in love (well, I liked it, my husband… not so much).
Saw that you are training for your first 5K over on HTP and thought I would say hi… I am from Iowa too 🙂 (live near Chicago now)
This was the first time we’ve tried it, as well. It really just reminded me of fluffy brown rice, but since it’s so rich in nutrients I think it will make a great substitute for other things. I would also suggest adding some spices/herbs to this recipe – basil, parsley, etc. It will really add some more flavor. I hope you like it!
I AM running my first 5K in a few weeks! The closer it gets, the nervous I’m becoming, but I’m determined to finish it! I’ll be hopping over to your blog for some running advice! Thanks for stopping by – it’s great to “meet” a fellow Iowan! 🙂
We made these last night, and they were delicious! We’ll definitely try it again. We didn’t have other veggies on hand, so we made fresh salsa with tomatoes from the garden and mixed that with the quinoa. It actually worked really well.
If you happen to near a Costco, you can get a 4-lb. bag of quinoa for $9!
Excellent! I’m so glad you liked them! Great idea using fresh salsa – we’ll have to try that, as I’m sure that added tons of flavor.
And, thanks for the Costco tip. What a steal!
I am making this for dinner Sunday! Thanks for the recipe! My mouth is watering!!!
Awesome, Claire! People have been telling me they’ve added other spices or salsa to add some flavor. You’ll have to let me know how they turn out!