Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Another recipe that I made up as I went along, so its very simple, and can be altered using any type of vegetables and seasoning. Below is what I had on hand. You will need two pots, one pan, and one baking dish.

Ingredients

pot 1

boiling water

pot 2

1c. quinoa (you could definitely use only half a cup, but Dan has a big appetite so I used a full cup)

2c. water

small handful of parsley

salt

pan

oil

1 zucchini

1 yellow scallop squash

1/2 onion

1 clove of minced garlic

1/4 c. sun dried tomatoes

3 tbs. nutritional yeast

1 tbs. mustard

salt and pepper to taste

baking dish

two bell peppers

1c. tomato sauce

Process

preheat oven to 350

1. cut tops off bell peppers and save. bring water to boil, and place peppers in water until softened. set in baking dish, under a thin layer of tomato sauce.

2. begin cooking quinoa in second pot. season with salt, and stir in chopped parsley once quinoa has finished cooking.

3. in pan, heat oil and saute onion. add garlic, then zucchini and squash. add sun dried tomatoes, and stir in mustard. cook until zucchini and squash are soft. stir in nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.

4. layer a spoonful of quinoa into bell pepper, then layer of vegetables, and repeat until bell pepper is filled. place cap on bell pepper.

5. spread the remaining quinoa and veggies around the baking dish. add the remaining tomato sauce.

6. bake in oven for 15 minutes (this will finish cooking the bell peppers and allow all the flavors to combine)

Donuts!

We are lucky here in Eugene because we have two vegan donut places: Holy Donuts, which also has gluten-free donuts, and the world famous Voodoo Doughnuts. Given that we have two great donut shops, in close proximity, with items I can actually eat, I don't tend to crave donuts all too often. However, when Betty posted a recipe for homemade non-fried vegan donuts, I couldn't resist. The recipe comes from Vegan Yum Yum, one of my favorite vegan blogs.

I followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of :replacing soymilk for coconut milk, and using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour in place of real flour. Also, I don't happen to have a donut pan, so I improvised by using a cupcake pan.
To do this, fill the pan with batter about 1/3 of the way, and bake as directed. Once they are baked and slightly cooled, use a funnel spout to poke a donut hole.

click here for the recipe.


With the left over chocolate, I made frozen bananas.

vegan a go go tip #2

Do your research!

Get to know vegan options at chain restaurants, or snack food items that you can pick up at any store. Por ejemplo, I really like Chipotle's vegetarian salad sans cheese and sour cream. I hold the dressing and get extra salsa, if I am really hungry I get guacamole (at no extra cost, huzzah!) So on long road trips, Dan and I research locations for Chipotle, then make sure that's where we stop for food. If you plan ahead, you are less likely to stop just anywhere, and in your haste devour a cheeseburger.

Also, pack snacks. On flights, we will pack a few pbj's (they transport easily), carrots, and apples. This way, if our flight is delayed, or we can't find any good airport restaurants, we have a back up plan.