COMMUNITY COOKING WITH THE CO-OP

Need a new recipe? Join us!

Coos Bay Library has teamed up with Coos Head Food Co-op to provide safe, easy, and healthy recipes to create at home. Join us virtually on Zoom for this fun community event!

Monthly Event: Every Fourth Thursday!

For this month’s recipe, Spirituality Teacher & Mentor, Tara Cridland, will be making Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers.

Scroll down for ingredients.

Register for this virtual event @ https://bit.ly/3powyqG

Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp Cooking oil for sautéing 
2-4 medium to large bell peppers 
1 cup of quinoa or rice
1-2 medium to large carrots
1 medium onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
1-2 Zucchini
1 Large tomato
1 can of black beans rinsed and ready (*Optional)
2 Tbsp Herb de Provence Seasoning mix - Coos Head Co-op Sells organic in the bulk section for $1.49 per oz
Salt 
Pepper
2-3 cups Vegan or regular cheese - you can buy a block to shred at home or buy pre shredded cheese (If gluten free, double check the shredded cheese brand is gluten free. Some brands use gluten as a binder for pre-shredded cheese)

*Optional - you can make a small side salad to go with your stuffed bell pepper. (Prepackaged salad or a simple lettuce and simple chopped veggies works!)

**You can replace any of the vegetables above with what you have on hand or your favorite vegetables. Just make sure they can be cut into small pieces to mix in with the quinoa or rice to make the stuffing.**

Items needed: 
Baking pan
Large Frying pan
Sauce pan with lid
Cutting board
Kitchen knife for chopping veggies
Spatula
Mixing spoon
Large Mixing bowl
Teaspoon or Tablespoon for stuffing your peppers

Instructions (We will go over these live):

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (for faster cooking time, you can preheat oven to 350 for slower cooking time if you re peat the recipe on your own.
2. Using your sauce pan with a lid, add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. 
3. Once the water is boiling, add 1 cup of quinoa or rice to the water, stir to make sure there’s no lumps,  cover the pan with the lid and reduce the heat to a simmer (medium low-low) 
4. Set the timer for 15-18 minutes. (Your rice or quinoa will be done once all water is absorbed and cooked to your preferred texture, you can test a small bite to make sure it’s cooked enough.)
5. Once rice/quinoa is done, turn off burner and let the pan sit with the lid on until your ready to mix it with the vegetables.
6. Begin preparing your vegetables - make sure to keep your chopped tomato separate from the other vegetables, we will be adding it later. 
7. When you more than halfway through the chopping, preheat your frying pan on the stove top on medium heat. Then finish chopping your vegetables.
8. Crush your garlic, peel it and set it aside
9. Dice the onion, carrots and zucchini 
10. Chop your tomato into small bite size pieces 
11. Dice your garlic
12. Check your pan is hot, if so, add your cooking oil to your pan until heated (1-2 minutes)
13. Add the diced onion, carrot and zucchini to the pan, stirring frequently to sauté the vegetables until soft and fragrant
14. Add salt and pepper to taste 
15. Add your garlic and sauté for 1 more minute until garlic smells fragrant.
16. Turn off burner, scoop the vegetables into the large mixing bowl, adding the diced tomatoes at this time. (If you are using black beans add them too.) 
17. Add 1-2 Tbsps of Herb de Provence seasoning to the veggies and more salt and pepper if needed
18. Mix all the ingredients together until the seasoning is combined well with the veggies. 
19. Add your quinoa/rice and mix well. 
20. Add your shredded cheese to the mixture and stir until well combined 
21. Prepare your bell pepper to stuff by carefully cutting the top of the bell pepper off (it will be a lid) try and keep the stem and top of the bell pepper intact. 
22. Gently scoop the seeds out of the bell peppers to avoid breaking or tearing
23. Place your Peppers in the baking pan and spoon your stuffing into the peppers, using your smaller spoon to work the stuffing down into the little spaces at the bottom of the pepper
24. Once the pepper is full of stuffing, gently press your spoon on top to fully pack your pepper with stuffing. 
25. Place the “pepper lid” back on top of the stuffed bell pepper. 
26. Place your peppers into the oven and set the timer for 15 - 20 minutes to cook the bell pepper. Begin checking the bell pepper at 15 minutes. 
27. Your stuffing is already cooked, you are only needing to bake the bell pepper until it’s at the desired softness you prefer. 
28. Once bell pepper is cooked, remove from oven with an oven mitt or towel to avoid burning your hands and set the pan on the stove top to allow the bell peppers to cool enough for you to plate it. 
29. Use your spatula and a fork to lift the bell pepper out of the pan and place it on your plate and enjoy!

Event is FREE and open to everyone!

Check out the Community Cooking playlist on the library's YouTube channel with over three years worth of recipes!
Go to: https://bit.ly/3pXmapN