Quinoa & Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 2 or so tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
• 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 15 can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups quinoa
• 3 large carrots, grated
• 1 1/2 cups shredded vegan mozzarella
• 4 large red & yellow bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Instructions

1. Heat oil in LARGE heavy skillet/saucepan over medium heat. Add onion & celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin & garlic, and saute 1 minute. Stir in spinach & drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. 2. Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots & 3 - 4 cups water (depending on how much quinoa you use). Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low & simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. You can stir in 1 cup of the cheese at this point if you like - I waited because it makes it easier to freeze & keep extras in the fridge without the cheese - I added the cheese in at baking. Season with salt & pepper. 3. Preheat oven to 350F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish. 4. Fill each bell pepper with a heaping 3/4 cup quinoa mixture, & place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, sprinkle with salt & pepper then generously divide cheese amoung the tops. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops are browned. Let stand 5 minutes, and drizzle with pan juices just before serving.