Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Green Valley Foods

This post is sponsored by Green Valley Foods, however, I am sharing all of my own thoughts. All opinions are my own.

We’re coming up on the new year which means fresh starts and new year’s resolutions. One of the resolutions at the forefront for a lot of us is being more health conscious. And again at the forefront of ignored resolutions is that very same one getting pushed to the wayside. We go through all the excuses - it’s hard, it’s expensive, it’s time consuming. But really, it doesn’t have to be!

That’s why I’ve teamed up with Green Valley foods to show you how easy AND affordable eating organic can be. I whipped up these delicious vegetarian stuffed peppers that are also gluten free and super quick and easy to make. The whole family will love them, and they’re so simple that the kids can even get in on the fun of helping to make them.

So why Green Valley? They’re the obvious choice because all of their products are USDA organic, non-GMO, BPA-free, gluten free, and made in the USA. You can pick up the corn and black beans for this recipe at your local grocery store and not have to worry about any of it going bad because they’re both shelf stable. They’re also very affordable making it easy and reasonable to eat organic. You can even order them on Amazon. It really doesn’t get much more convenient than that!

So let’s get to it!

Here’s what you’ll need:
-4 bell peppers, halved and de-seeded
-1/2 red onion, chopped
-15.5 oz bag Green Valley Black Beans -15.25 oz can Green Valley Corn
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
-2 tbsp taco seasoning
-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese plus more -1 green onion, chopped

Instructions:

1)  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. On a parchment lined baking sheet, bake the halvedpeppers for 15 minutes.
2)  In the meantime, strain the black beans and corn.
3)  Mix together the beans, corn, diced tomatoes, red onion, taco seasoning, and cheesetogether in a large bowl.
4)  Remove the peppers from the oven, and fill each pepper with the mixture.
5)  Top each pepper with a sprinkle of cheese, and return them to the oven for 15 minutes.
6)  Remove the peppers, and top each with green onion.
7)  Serve, and enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below, and make sure to head over to http://www.welcometogreenvalley.com to learn more about all of Green Valley’s organic products.

Vegan Stuffed Poblanos (GF)

I headed to a local farm market yesterday afternoon with my niece. She gets to a point where she is just sick of being in the house (totally understandable), so she will find her shoes and come up to me and say, "GO". She's just under 18 months, so vocabulary is limited. But I'm pretty sure I've got this one figured out. Plus she's basically shoving her shoes in my face, so we put them on and do what she says, go.

Unfortunately it's been about 9723753892 degrees the past week or so, so the last thing I want to do is take her for a walk in her stroller. There are also limited places that I really want to take an 18 month old indoors, so I thought we could try this local farm that has a small market. I've taken her before. We spend 15-20 minutes looking at animals going over which is which. I let her walk about 5 feet until she tries to run away, and then I have to carry her to the little market.

But yesterday we got to the market, and I was already sweating. We walked over to the animals (half of whom were hiding in the barn because it was hot AF), she said goat, I took that as my cue to pretend I heard "go", and we headed to the farm's market. Seriously SUCH a relief! Once in the store, I felt obligated to buy something, but to my pleasure there was TONS of organic greens and other produce. I spotted some poblanos and instantly had a plan for these babies. So long story short, everything happens for a reason? I don't know. How about always say yes to organic, local poblanos.

Here's What You'll Need:

-4 poblano peppers
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/4 red onion, chopped
-8 oz cooked quinoa
-One 15.5 oz can chickpeas
-1 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-2 tbsp olive oil, separated
-3/4 cup Herb 'n Zest tomato chive cooking sauce
-Salsa (optional)
-2 tbsp green onion, chopped (optional)

Serves 2-4

Instructions:

1) Turn your oven onto broil on high.Coat the poblanos in 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook the poblanos for 3-5 minutes per side until skin starts to blister.
2) Remove them from the oven, and switch it to bake at 375 degrees. Let the peppers cool. Once cool, remove the blistered parts of skin.
3) Use a small knife to remove the stem of the poblanos and make a slit down one side. 
4) In a skillet on the stove top, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat.
5) Add in the garlic and red onion and allow to cook down for about 3 minutes.
6) In the meantime, strain and rinse the chickpeas. 
7) Add the chickpeas to the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes.
8) Add in the sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper and cook until the sauce is heated (about 3 minutes).
9) Mix in the quinoa, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
10) Equally distribute the filling to stuff each pepper.
11) Place, the peppers in a lightly greased baking pan, cover with aluminum foil, and cook for 10 minutes.
12) Take the peppers out, remove the foil, add any salsa if desired, and place the pan back into the oven (uncovered) for an additional 10 minutes.
13) Remove the pan from the oven, plate the peppers, top with green onions if desired, and enjoy!

Besides the obvious subject (poblanos), the real star of the show is this Herb 'n Zest tomato chive cooking sauce. This is just one of MANY ways you can use this delicious sauce. All of their sauces and condiments are vegan, gluten free, and use non-gmo ingredients. If you'd like give them a try, you can use the code GET25ARLTH to get 25% off their home chef starter pack which includes 6 sauces. You can click the picture below to go straight to checkout.

If you use this code, you'll be entered into their summer giveaway worth $50 if you post a picture of yourself with a jar of Herb 'n Zest to Instagram and tag it with the hashtag #herbnzest. The winner will be selected 8/15/16.

I honestly LOVE these sauces (or I wouldn't recommend them), so the home chef start pack is a great way to give them a try! Plus who doesn't love the chance to win a giveaway?

Ginger Soy Turkey Stuffed Peppers Over Zoodles with a Rice Wine Vinaigrette

I had ground turkey sitting in my fridge that I needed to use, but I didn't want to do the standard tacos. I feel like this happens to me more often than it should. I'll buy it thinking oh this will be easy, and then I don't want tacos.

So it was brainstorming time, and stuffed peppers popped into my mind. But, like I said, I just wasn't in the mood for Mexican. So why not go more of an Asian route? My Sriracha Ginger Turkey Meatballs are one of my favorite recipes, so I knew that I could definitely come up with something delicious. And what better way to pair it than with a fresh, raw zucchini salad.

Here's What You'll Need:

-3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
-1 lb lean ground turkey
-2 green onions, chopped
-1/4 cup Tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)
-2 tbsp sriracha (if you don't like the heat just use one)
-1 tsp ginger, shaved
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 zucchinis, spiralized
-1 tsp olive oil

For the dressing:

-3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
-2 tbsp Tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1/2 tsp sesame oil
-1 tsp spicy brown mustard
-1 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce
-1/4 tsp pure cane sugar

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2) Heat up the tsp olive oil in a large pan on the stove top, and add in the garlic. Cook for about a minute.
3) Add in the ground turkey and cook fully until it is no longer pink.
4) Add in the scallions, soy sauce, sriracha, and ginger, and continue to cook for another minute or so.
5) Place the bell pepper halves on a baking sheet, and fill each with the turkey mixture, using it all.
6) Pop the peppers into the oven, and cook for 30 minutes.
7) Mix together the dressing ingredients, and toss the zoodles in it. Split the zoodles between 3 plates, and top each with 2 bell pepper halves.
8) Enjoy!

You can easily use this dressing on any salad. I used on spiralized cucumber with some raw bell pepper and shrimp. I also want to try the peppers using lentils or faux meat, so let me know if you give it a try! I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below!