My mother-in-law makes some fantastic stuffed peppers and I had a craving for them today but couldn’t find any nice peppers at the grocery store today. In a flash of inspiration, I grabbed some beautiful large zucchini and used it in place of the peppers. It was a great light meal and easy to make and fun to take a family favorite and give it my own spin. Enjoy!
Stuffed Zucchini
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup quinoa
2 large zucchini
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium sauce pan, cook the quinoa in vegetable broth for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Stir occasionally. Allow to cool.
Trim zucchini and halve each lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out seeds and some pulp from zucchini halves, leaving a 1/4″ thick shell. Set aside.
In a skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil on medium-high until hot. Add onion and cook 3 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and red pepper and cook until fragrant. Add beef and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove from heat. Stir in quinoa and half of mint.
On prepared pan, toss tomatoes, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1 teaspoon oil. Arrange zucchini halves, cut sides up, around tomatoes. Mound 3/4 cup beef filling in each zucchini half, packing tightly.
Place pan in preheated oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until tender. Place zucchini and tomatoes on a platter; sprinkle with remaining mint.
A note from the Accidental Chef: Stuffed peppers traditionally calls for rice instead of quinoa. You may substitute rice or another grain of your preference. If you use rice, the recipe is still gluten-free.
Kitchen Table Talk…
Have you ever experimented with a family favorite recipe? If you try one of my recipes, please let me know what you thought by sharing a comment in the area below. Or if you like this post, share it with your friends and family through your favorite social media service.
Deborah, or iDeborah as she’s affectionately known on Twitter, loves to experiment in the kitchen. Some of her best dishes were created by accident! She started this blog to encourage others to get creative in the kitchen… and to record some of her accidental creations so she can enjoy them again! To learn more about
Sun, Aug 15, 2010
Entrees, Gluten Free, Sides, Starters