Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Avocado Cream

I think I found my new favorite vegetable to stuff. I mean, bell peppers are okay, but I like to use them for flavor, not as the main part of my dish. Mushrooms are good too, but they can be watery. And then there’s squash, which I love, but I usually don’t want squash when it’s hot outside or humid. I save stuffed squash for cold crisp days and in Texas there is not a lot of those. So now I’m on to using poblano peppers.

Now I did look up traditional stuff poblano peppers and I thought it was interesting that they use raisins or something sweet mixed in, kind of like dried cranberries in stuffed squash. But I’m not a raisin person and I decided to play it safe.

Originally when I made this recipe I didn’t have the avocado cream. I wasn’t sure if it was going to need it or not. But I should know, you always need avocado cream. So you’ll see some pictures with and without the avocado cream. Before I go any further, below is the link to my avocado cream which uses yogurt instead, and you can even use fat free Greek yogurt to increase the protein and have only the fat found in the avocado. Either way, here’s the recipe!

Now! For those that do not use poblano peppers, these are not hot peppers. They are not even as hot as jalapenos. However, they do hold some heat in the seeds and where the seeds are held inside the pepper. When you clean out the pepper and remove the seeds and the area where the seeds are held (I don’t know what to call it), you can wear gloves or just make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before touching your face, etc. I had a paper cut on my finger and it slowly started to burn until the whole area was red and irritated. It’s not super hot, but it will cause irritation, and you definitely don’t want to rub your face if you have it on your hands.

That being said – the actual pepper, especially after roasting it, does not have much heat if any. I don’t mind spicy things here and there, but I’m definitely not a spicy person and I had no problem eating them.

One last thing to add – I am allergic to corn and the recipe needed a pop of color so I added a yellow bell pepper to the recipe. Corn goes much better, but that was my substitute and it did work well and tasted good, plus it had that extra color. There is instructions if you use either the yellow bell pepper or the frozen corn kernels.

Now on to the recipe! Enjoy it! It’s another recipe that scratches my vegetarian Tex Mex itch.

• Servings: 4-6 Main Servings
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Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup quinoa, dry
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped (or you can use 1 cup frozen corn)
• 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 15oz cans pinto beans, drained (or 3 cups cooked)
• 1/4 cup pepitas
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 poblano peppers, seeds removed and cut 1/2 long ways
• Cojita cheese
• Fresh Cilantro
• Lime
• Avocado Cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat olive oil in medium sauce pan on medium heat. Add onion and yellow bell pepper (if using corn, wait until later) cook until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and toast for about 1 minute.
3. Add in quinoa dry and toast the quinoa for a minute or two.
4. Add in vegetable broth and let simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked through, turning the heat to low. (If using frozen corn, throw in the 1 cup frozen corn once the quinoa is cooked).
5. While the quinoa is simmering, get the poblano peppers ready. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and get rid of any seeds on the inside, unless you want it to be spicier. Place them on a baking sheet. I lined my sheet with parchment paper, and I also had to use 2 baking sheets.
6. Once quinoa is cooked through, (and if you are using corn stir it in) take quinoa off the heat. Stir in the diced tomatoes, pinto beans, pepitas, and seasoning – smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, and cumin.
7. Fill in the poblano peppers as much as you can. Once all are full, stick them in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then I switched my baking sheets around and baked for another 10 minutes. If adding cojita cheese, I added it and stuck it in for another 5 minutes. It won’t melt, but it will bake onto the quinoa mixture and some parts might brown a little.
8. Once baked, take out of the oven and let sit for a good 5 minutes or so. Plate it and top with lime juice, cilantro, more cheese or avocado cream.

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