Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers: 2 Way
Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers: 2 Way
I love any food that comes in miniature form. Mini cucumbers, mini bananas, mini peppers. Heck, raisins are like mini grapes, a gift from the gods.
The mini-ier it is, the more you can eat!
Like these little stuffed bell peppers we got from the Farmer’s Market. You can eat like 10 of em before you get filled up!
Blake and I were excited when we picked these guys up from the FM. At Target right now, you can get the same amount for $4.99. We got these as part of the 3 for 5! Look how cute they are in a Mason Jar…
After doing a little bit of recipe research and asking Twitter for a good GF stuffed pepper recipe, I stumbled upon one from Martha Stewart using chicken sausage and cous cous. Coincidentally, Gold n’ Plump Chicken had just sent me a big box of chicken sausage to try. PERFECTION!
We used the Hot Italian Chicken Sausage version and substituted the cous cous for quinoa to make it gluten free. I also added a can of stewed tomatoes for some extra flavor. You really don’t need to add much more because the chicken sausage already has so much flavor.
On top of the Chicken Sausage Quinoa Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers, we made a vegetarian friendly version as well using mashed sweet potato and quinoa. This one called for a few extra spices such as salt, pepper, and garlic salt.
Vegetarian Sweet Potato Quinoa Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers
Chicken Sausage & Quinoa Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers
Having a boyfriend who has his Masters in Grilling pays off. Not sure if that actually exists, but if it did…Blake would own that exam.
He’s pretty proud of his Thermos Grill. He recently revamped it and just bought all new parts plus a bunch of grill gadgets, including beer butt chicken spigots.
The peppers were cooked at 350, for about 8 minutes a side, roughly 15-20 minutes total. Check out these grill marks!
One thing you need to make sure you do, is poke 2 or 3 holes in the bottom of each pepper. This helps let the air escape, which builds up during the cooking process. If you poke the holes while you’re stuffing, it’s actually easier. Master Grill Chef Blake told me that one!
Do you see the hole?
Along with our mini bell peps, we cooked up the rest of the chicken sausages to get the true taste of Gold n’ Plump. NUMMY! Whatever spices are in the Hot Italian version is delicious.
Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers
For both versions, I used the same quinoa mixture: 1 C quinoa + 2C water. I brought that to a boil, and reduced until the quinoa was light and fluffy. Then I added a can of stewed tomatoes and mixed that up until the tomatoes were broken up. From there I made the 2 versions…
- 1C quinoa
- 2C water
- 1 can stewed tomatoes
Chicken Sausage & Quinoa Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers
*Makes 12-15 mini stuffed peppers
Ingredients
-1/2 of the quinoa mixture or 1/2C quinoa, 1C water ~1/2 can stewed bell peppers)
-3 Gold n’ Plump Chicken Sausages
Method
1. Begin by prepping peppers, thoroughly wash. Then, cut the tops off and scrape out the innards.
2. Using a skewer, poke 2 to 3 holes on the bottom of the peppers. This allows the air to escape during the grilling process and helps you pack the most amount of stuffing in the peppers.
3. Squeeze the meat out of the casing of 3 chicken sausages. Then sautee them on medium/high heat for about 5-8 minutes. Then, add in your quinoa mixture.
4. Using a small spoon, stuff each pepper all the way to the top.
5. Grill the bell peppers at 35 for 15-20 minutes. For easy clean up, use tin foil
Sweet Potato Quinoa Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers
Ingredients
-1/2 of the quinoa mixture or 1/2C quinoa, 1C water ~1/2 can stewed bell peppers)
-1 C mashed sweet potato
-salt, pepper, garlic salt
Method
1. Begin by prepping peppers, thoroughly wash. Then, cut the tops off and scrape out the innards.
2. Using a skewer, poke 2 to 3 holes on the bottom of the peppers. This allows the air to escape during the grilling process and helps you pack the most amount of stuffing in the peppers.
3. Mix 1C mashed sweet potato into the quinoa mixture. Then add spices.
4. Using a small spoon, stuff each pepper all the way to the top.
5. Grill the bell peppers at 35 for 15-20 minutes. For easy clean up, use tin foil
We actually had some extra stuffing from each, so we made some patties for grilling later in the week. Stay tuned for that post!
What is your favorite mini food to eat?
