This was a really good base recipe. It's very bland however and even with some italian spices it was still "missing something". However it was easy and very healthy:)
I always par boil my peppers before making any type of stuffed pepper. Put about a half inch of water in a pot and bring to boiling. Put pepper upside down (tops cut off and cleaned out already) in the water and cover. Boil for 5 minutes. They are now ready to stuff and don't need as much time in the oven - other than to heat up or cook whatever filling. This recipe did need a lot of additional spices - I put about 1.5 Tbs. seasoned salt, 2 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. red pepper flakes, and 1 tsp. garlic powder. Also put some shredded cheddar in the filling as well.
Once I added a few things to this recipe it was excellent but I do agree that it would have been a bit bland on it's own. I added a whole 15 oz. can of tomato sauce instead of just a cup and Italian seasonings as well as some crushed pepper for a little kick. I also added some cheddar cheese inside as well as on top instead of the mozzarella cheese I think the sharpness of the cheddar was a good addition. I also kept the peppers cooking at least 10 minute longer than the recipe said and I still think that it was too crisp tender for me so I next time would probably either microwave or cook the peppers a little bit before adding the filling and cooking it the 18 plus minutes. Otherwise a great recipe- very healthy yet tasty.
These were delicious, but I gave them 4 stars because I think my alterations made a big difference in the taste. 1) I cooked the quinoa in chicken stock and tomato juice (from canned tomatoes). That gave it amazing flavour. 2) I added more garlic to the onions (double). 3) I added a little cheese to the mixture (I think that also helped hold it together). 4) I used 2/3 c Randa pasta sauce (with Basil) and 1/3 c canned tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce. This North African brand really added a nice kick! 5) I Baked the peppers (whole) for 10-15 min on 350 by themselves. I let them cool -- then cut the tops off, seeded them, and stuffed them. I made sure the stuffing was really packed in! Then I let them sit a while (while I prepared the other parts of this big meal) and baked them for 20 min in the oven to finish the cooking. I think in that sitting time, the flavours also mingled! Very yummy results -- they were a hit!
I added some chicken sausage to the recipe and it worked out very well.
I have not tried this recipe yet but plan on making it tomorrow. Seeing the comments about the blandness I would like to offer up what I now plan on doing when I make this. I love quiona and it is excellent if you saute diced celery onion and carrot. Add a little chicken broth and throw in currants dried cranberries and diced apricots a little cinnamon and cardamon. Add the cooked quinoa and the tomatoes if you like. Then fill the peppers. When I make stuffed peppers I usually slice them longways and lay them down on top of some seasoned tomato sauce and chicken broth. This seems to amp up the flavor of the pepper.
Great basic recipe; I added seasoned salt and a whole can of crushed tomatoes. It filled exactly 6 bell peppers. Husband loved it kids wouldn't touch it with the pepper around the stuffing. They loved the filling though.
I used tomato juice and chicken stock to cook the quinoa, then in added a can of tomatoes, black beans and corn and a lot of cumin and CILANTRO... THEY WERENT BLAND AT ALL ??
It was OK the filling was good but the peppers seemed bland.
