Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa, Black Beans and Corn

Quinoa is an ingredient that I have a love/hate relationship with -- sometimes it is a really great ingredient and sometimes it just doesn't turn out. It does add a nice hearty element to stuffed peppers and the slow cooker helped to make the process less of a hassle. All of the prep was done and these were in the slow cooker giving me 4-5 hours of free time.

Recipe from Bless This Mess.

Ingredients: 

-4 red, orange, or yellow bell peppers

-1 green onion

-1 tablespoon minced garlic

-1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

-1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed

-1 cup cooked quinoa

-1 cup corn 

-1 cup jarred tomato salsa

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon cumin

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cut the tops off of the peppers and discard the seeds. Mix together the green onion, minced garlic, shredded cheese, black beans, quinoa, corn, salsa and seasoning. Stuff the peppers with the filling and put into a large crock pot. Add a small amount of water to the bottom. Cook on low to 4-5 hours. In the last fifteen minutes of cooking add more cheese to the top.

Dave and I both really liked this recipe. The quinoa made these a little heartier than if they had been made with just rice. Whenever I make stuffed peppers, I typically make Italian style. I liked that these were more of a Southwest style. This would be a nice side for taco night, they also reheated well for lunch the next day.