Enchilada Quinoa and Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Found this great blog...Ambitious Kitchen.  She's got all kinds of great recipes, and many very healthy ones.  When I found this recipe...for the stuffed peppers, well, I couldn't make them fast enough!  I'm being very stingy with my quinoa...I only brought back two boxes from France...so I want to use it with a dish I know I'm going to like.  (and I did)

This would work great as a vegetarian dish as well...just use all quinoa.  I made these following her recipe, but the recipe below shows how I would make it next time...mine came out a bit dry this first round.  It was a hit with the whole family...I use a very mild (homemade) enchilada sauce, so the hubby had to spice his up a bit.  The girls really liked the filling but weren't big fans of eating the pepper...though they both took three bites.  Rules are rules and all.  ;)

We served it up with a side of chips and homemade guacamole (hubby's recipe).  Great dinner!

Ingredients

3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 pound ground chicken or turkey

1/2 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish

1/2 onion, diced

1/3 cup egg whites

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup red enchilada sauce

1 cup reduced fat cheese of your choice, divided (we used gouda because it was all I had...tasted great too!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl combine chicken, quinoa, egg whites, onion, cilantro, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese, and enchilada sauce. Mix well.
3. Stuff each pepper half with the mixture. Top pepper with 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce and 1 tablespoon of cheese. Bake for 45 minutes.