Buffalo Chicken & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Take that buffalo chicken wing and stick it in a bell pepper. These buffalo chicken and quinoa stuffed bell peppers are the best of both worlds.

If my childhood self could see me now, I would be in disbelief in the things I eat today. Tacos with more than meat and cheese inside of them, salad or rather any vegetable that isn’t carrots or corn, and stuffed peppers!? The horror! To make things even worse these are Buffalo chicken wing inspired and childhood me could not handle spicy foods (although I imagine I was not alone in this as a child). Thankfully my taste buds have grown up along with the rest of me over the years because these stuffed bell peppers taste just like they were stuffed with buffalo chicken dip, along with some celery, carrots, and quinoa.

I baked these in one of the pans from a new 4-piece Baker’s Secret Bake & Serve set, which comes in 3 colors (mine’s blue) and includes a 2 quart square pan, 3 and 4 quart rectangle pans, and a 9″ pie pan. And now you can have a set of your own cause I’m giving one away! It goes from oven to table eliminating the need for another dirty dish, has durable non-stick coating, is lightweight, nests together, is oven and dishwasher safe, and comes with a lifetime warranty. Use the Rafflecopter widget located at the end of this post to enter. Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.

Two years ago: Spinach Dip

Three years ago: Bananas Foster Pancakes

Four years ago: Christmas Red Velvet Mug Cake

Five years ago: Spinach Artichoke Dip

BUFFALO CHICKEN & QUINOA STUFFED PEPPERS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

4 medium bell peppers, assorted colors, tops sliced off and seeds removed

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

1/2 lb. ground chicken breast

Salt and pepper to taste

4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

1/4 cup hot cayenne pepper sauce

1/4 cup Ranch dressing

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, plus more for serving

1 cup water

1 green onion, sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium pot, cook quinoa according to package directions. Once done, remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a large pan over medium-high heat, heat the butter until melted. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add celery and carrot and cook 4 more minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Return pan to heat and add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add chicken and crumble. Season with salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink. Return the vegetables to the pan. Stir in cream cheese, hot sauce, and dressing, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the quinoa and blue cheese.
5. Place the peppers in a 2.5 quart baking dish. Divide filling equally between the peppers, replace lids, and pour water into the bottom of the dish.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated and the peppers are starting to brown. Serve topped with green onion and additional blue cheese.

Source: Adapted from Greek Stuffed Peppers.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post by 3rd Floor Social on behalf of Baker’s Secret and World Kitchen. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.
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