Tri-Pepper Quinoa

The easiest place to get inspired for recipes is the grocery store. Just going to the produce section and seeing the huge displays of vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables makes you want to eat that much more. My grocery store had a display of different colored peppers and I knew I wanted to use them for a recipe.

The colors fade from the peppers a little once you sauté them but it brings out a much sweeter flavor, too. They add the perfect touch with some seasoning to quinoa to make it a much more interesting dish.

If you want to dress this up, you can purchase some extra peppers, roast them until they’re cooked, and serve the quinoa inside the cooked peppers.

Tri-Pepper Quinoa

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup quinoa
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3/4 salt
• 1/4 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon honey(optional)
• 1 15oz can chickpeas

Method:

1. Combine the quinoa with the appropriate amount of water(about 3 cups unless the brand you’re using says otherwise) in a pot over the stove. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn off the heat. Leave undisturbed for 15 minutes.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over a separate burner.
3. Sauté the onion and the peppers until they start to turn color and char a little.
4. Add the salt and pepper to the vegetables in the pan and remove from the heat.
5. Remove the lid from the quinoa and add in the chickpeas, honey, and sautéed vegetable. Mix well with a large spoon and serve hot.

Biting into the peppers and onions reminded me of a meatloaf. If you’re not a vegetarian you can always leave the chickpeas out and serve this with some ground beef and I think it’d be excellent.