Ok Shredders.  This one’s for you!  I LOVE Mexican food, but I don’t love the bloated feeling that comes with the meal.  Enjoy this low carb, low sodium, AND low fat version of enchiladas. You can easily make it gluten free or vegan if you wish, perfect for your healthy, fitness oriented lifestyle! It’s perfectly designed to curb your cravings PLUS give you the energy you need to kill your Spartan class tonight.

Mexican-Stuffed-Peppers2[1]Mexican Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa & Black Beans

Ingredients

  • 4 bell peppers (any color), sliced in half stem-to-tip, seeds removed
  • 1c quinoa, uncooked
  • ½ medium onion, diced
  • 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
  • 1 (4oz) can diced green chiles (don’t drain)
  • ¼c cilantro, minced
  • ¼tsp salt
  • ¼tsp pepper
  • olive oil, if desired
  • ½c Monterrey Jack, grated*
  • ½c cheddar cheese, grated*
  • 1 recipe red enchilada sauce (or 1 (28oz) can)*
* – if desired

Method

  1. Add quinoa and onion to a large saucepan with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 5 minutes, cover, turn off heat and let steam 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
  2. In the meantime, microwave pepper halves 2-3 minutes to soften slightly. (Prepared this way, the peppers should come out crisp-tender. If you want them crisper, you can omit this step.)
  3. Pour quinoa/onion mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in black beans, tomato, green chiles and their juices, cilantro, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. If the mixture seems to dry, drizzle in a bit of olive oil (I didn’t need any).
  4. Pour enchilada sauce into a 9×13″ baking dish. Divide filling among peppers. Nestle stuffed peppers into the enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses.
  5. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and cook about 5 minutes longer. Serve peppers drizzled with enchilada sauce.

reblogged from one lovely life