Shredded Beef and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Yesterday was a “I’m just gonna throw stuff in a slow cooker and hope for the best” day. I had beef in the freezer and I needed the space for something else. “Cool, we’re having beef of some kind for dinner… where did I put my coffee cup?” I’m lazy and don’t want to make a full-on beef stew so I stood with my head in the fridge for a while and saw a can of Guinness beer hiding among the 13 or so bottles of hot sauce I have stored away.

Liiiighbulllb. Well, half a lightbulb. I knew I was going to use the crock pot and I knew I had beef and beer and an onion somewhere. I also knew that I had a multipack of sweet peppers because one day Toddler decided she LOVED sweet peppers, then the next day was like nah Ma, I’m all set with sweet peppers. “You can shred beef and stuff it into peppers, right? Of course right. Why not? There are no rules in this kitchen, just mayhem and a whole lot of bad words and I have a napping kid – I can do ANYTHING.” – my thought process.

Fast forward five hours and I was in beefy smell warm kitchen heaven. Bonus that New England got friggin cold again yesterday, slow food is the best food for those days. I wouldn’t wanna make this in July. Unless I were using the beef as a base for tacos or something. Which would be amazing. Is that another half lightbulb I see? Hm…

 

Ingredients:

2lb stew beef

1 large onion (sliced)

1 can of Guinness

1/2 cup dried currants

¼ cup dried cherries

1T Worcestershire sauce

1T soy sauce

Salt

Pepper

Bay leaf

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1C red quinoa

2C chicken stock

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1lb baby bella mushrooms (chopped)

Assorted sweet peppers (4 or so)

Shredded cheese (optional)

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Put beef, onion, liquid, dried fruit, herbs and seasonings into a slow cooker and cook on high for about 5 hours.

Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms or roast them for a nice brown color.

Cook the quinoa – (combine 1C quinoa and 2C chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed).

Once the beef is falling apart take two forks and shred it. Stir in the mushrooms and cooked quinoa.

Halve the peppers and arrange in a baking dish. Pack the beef and quinoa mixture in and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 375 until cheese bubbles – maybe 15 minutes or so. Serve immediately and try to keep your new kitten off the table if you take a picture.

Side Note: Totally forgot about this other stuffed pepper recipe I came up with a couple years ago.