Italian Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Here’s the thing about sharing a refrigerator with three roommates: you get a whole one shelf for your own food.

Or, in my case, the two “crisper” drawers by your feet.

Not much room for storing leftovers, to say the least! If I cook a big batch of anything for dinner, you can bet that’s all I’m eating for the next four days. No, stir fry, I cannot make you tonight. I have a drawer full of lasagna to eliminate before it goes bad and starts growing an alien civilization. No harsh feelings. 

Yup, that Julia-to-food conversation happens…

Even though I do have roommates, our schedules are so different that we all make our own meals. And, damn, this whole cooking-for-one thing is a pain! Once you open a jar of marinara sauce, you’re stuck using that sauce in every dang meal you make for the rest of the week (is there not a solution to eliminating expiration dates, science geniuses of the world?!).

And that’s exactly what inspired today’s recipe, which–you guessed it–used up my marinara sauce.

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients

• Cooking spray (or olive oil)
• 3 to 4 bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 lb lean ground turkey breast
• 1 8-oz container mushrooms, sliced
• 1 6-oz bag baby spinach
• 1/2 24-oz jar marinara sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Whole grain bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly coat peppers with cooking spray, place in baking dish, and roast for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool until safe to handle later.
3. While peppers are in oven, cook quinoa and ground turkey according to package instructions.
4. Heat cooking spray or olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet on the stove. Add mushrooms and saute until soft, then add spinach and saute until slightly wilted.
5. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, ground turkey, mushrooms, spinach, tomato sauce, and spices.
6. Carefully spoon quinoa mixture into each bell pepper. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and bread crumbs on top of each stuffed pepper.
7. Cook in oven for another 15-20 minutes.
8. Serve and enjoy!