Passport for Your Palate-Stuffed Peppers

Hi! Due to popular demand for the recipe as a result of posting a picture of my dinner, I have decided to share my recent creation.  You see, it really wasn’t a recipe per say as I was inspired by two other recipes I have tried. I have a tendency to look something up, look in my pantry, and then create. Often this happens when the cupboards and refrigerator are starting to look bare and its time to shop again.  My daughter, Veronica, is always amazed at what I manage to put on the table out of what appears to be relatively nothing to choose from.

I love cooking and have been cooking since I was 10 years old. I’m of the decade where every little girl was a Girl Scout, and it was great fun filling your sash with badges.  I received my cooking badge after making a beef stew that included parsnips.  At the time, I had no idea what parsnips were.  As time went by my parents and great-grandmother were be huge influences.  I also took the standard home economics class in high school. I remember what a treat it was for me to make my dad a coconut cake for his birthday, since he loves coconut.  With so many cooks in the family who were adventurous and always introducing us to new flavors and ethnic dishes either at home or out, it is no wonder to this day why I love food. It’s one of the best things about being in the travel industry too, because nothing quite defines a destination as well as it’s food.

I am quite partial to spices and Mexican flavors, and the peppers take on a bit of that with their seasoning. I grew up eating the traditional green stuffed peppers with a burger and rice mix.  In addition, because my daughter has Celiac Disease, over the course of the past several years I have learned to adapt recipes to be gluten-free.

For this particular dish, the two influencing recipes were “Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers” from Autumn Calabrese’s Fixate and The Cookie Rookie’s “Cheesy Enchilada Stuffed Peppers”.  The modification for gluten-free was in my homemade enchilada sauce where I used gluten-free flour. Most of the other ingredients can easily be found in a GF form.  Below I have estimated the amounts of ingredients, since I don’t normally use a strict measuring system while cooking.

My Recent Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Ingredients:
2 bell peppers ( I prefer red because of their sweetness)
1 large chicken breast, cubed and cooked, seasoned with Himalayan Salt and a bit of black pepper
1/2 a can of corn
1/2 cup tri-colored quinoa cooked ahead of time in 1 cup chicken broth
1/2-1 cup enchilada sauce ( see recipe below)
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup shredded Mexican style cheese

Preheat oven to 425F.  In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken, corn, quinoa, mushrooms, and sauce. Slice the peppers in have length wise, cleaning out centers.  Place the pepper halves in a glass baking dish with skin side down.  Fill each pepper with your filling from the mixing bowl.  Bake for about  30-40 minutes.  Remove dish and add shredded cheese on top of each pepper. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.

My Enchilada Sauce
(Again this was a thrown together creation of what I had on hand at the time)
Ingredients:
1 T canola oil
1 small can tomato paste
1/4 cup Heinz ketchup
1/4 cup jar tomato sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 T flour (I used gluten-free)
3 T chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 cup water
Salt to taste

Heat oil pot over med-high heat.  Add flour and chili powder. Stirring to prevent burning.  Slowly add the tomato paste, ketchup, tomato sauce, water and remaining seasonings. Continuing stirring and cook for about 10 minutes.  Refrigerate or freeze leftovers depending on next use.
Made about 2 Cups.