Hawaiian Stuffed Peppers
Why hello there!
Happy Monday to ya. How was your weekend? Full of some good moments I hope? I had a lazy at home night with the hubby on Friday (love those!), a most splendid afternoon and evening with friend on Saturday followed by a visit to the dog park with my brother and his new girl Bentley.
Meet Bentley
Nearly perfect I would say!
On Sunday I started my day with a spinning class. SUPER spin which is an hour instead of 40 minutes. Since taking more classes, I'm beginning to find my fav instructors. One in particular is the Wed 6:30 am guy. He is INTENSE! Actually crazy at moments. I always walk out of that class drenched but so energized. He offers a perfect combination of motivation, awesome music, and a good, healthy dose of craziness. Well, my Wed at 6:30 guy also teaches Sunday Super Spin. Oh my!!!!
I nearly died guys. Really, truly. Nearly died (in an awesome way of course!). My legs were beyond fatigued!
I met my brother + Bentley for a walk right after just to keep the blood moving in my muscles before I collapsed. 
The rest of my day was spent reorganizing our closet. I'm done with my side (ya know, typical stuff: had to bring down all the fall/winter clothing and put up the summer items) so now it's time to attack the hubby's side. I might get lost in there…
After a day of lots of movement I needed something delicious for dinner. I had a bag full of gorgeous green peppers from my in-laws garden. There began my inspiration.
Wasn't in the mood for your typical stir fry. Didn't like what I was seeing in the recipe world of stuffed peppers. And for some reason pineapple was all I could think about.
ENTER….
Hawaiian Stuffed Peppers
All you need:
- 4-6 bell peppers
- 1 cup of quinoa, dry
- 1 cup marinara sauce, flavor is your choice (I used roasted red pepper)
- 6 thick slices of ham, sliced in bite size pieces
- 1 can of crushed or sliced pineapple, drained
- mozzarella cheese
- baking dish
This recipe is so simple it is ridiculous!
1. Preheat over at 350. Prepare quinoa. I always use 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. Bring to boil. Then simmer for about 15 minutes. Always turns out perfectly!
2. Wash bell peppers, remove tops and seeds.
These guys were so crisp!
3. In a large bowl, combine red sauce, ham, a small handful of mozzarella cheese and pineapple. Stir to coat everything. If you used pineapple rings, cut pineapple into small pieces before adding to mixture.
4. Add quinoa to mixture and stir to coat completely.
5. Now for the stuffing of the peppers. Here is the creative step. I began filling the peppers but noticed that once I placed them in the baking dish they either fell over or leaned against the side of the dish allowing the stuffing to fall out. Hmmm…
So I kept 2 of the peppers as a whole because they were standing up well. For the green peppers that were not agreeing, I sliced the peppers in half, put stuffing on the top of each "shell" and placed them in the dish. Success!
All ready to go in the oven!
6. Cook for 40 minutes at 350. Busy yourself as the house fills with a most glorious smell.
7. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on each pepper slice and cook for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
8. Take pictures, prepare a plate, enjoy and smile widely!
Oh there was another plate of this enjoyed!
The stuffing reminded me of a Hawaiian pizza with more and better flavor! The hint of pineapple was exactly what I wanted!
There ya have it! A simple recipe that gives you a wonderful serving of veggies, a dose of fruit, healthy protein and even some complex carbs! It does a body GOOD!
Looking to get that ham out of there to make this a vegetarian dish?
Easy! Add some pressed tofu that is roasted with maple syrup. Will give the stuffing that sweet taste that the ham did. Or snag yourself some Boca sausage and again, cook with just a hint of maple syrup.
Now, go enjoy your day and stuff some peppers this week! It's worth it.
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My old gym had 1 hour classes and I was always watching the clock at 45 mins in. Its amazing what those extra 15 minutes or so can do! My gym now has 50 min classes and sometimes I wish I had the longer class option. On my crazy days. 😉
Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun´s last [type] ..completely irresponsible