Public Lives: Shannon O’Brien | Secret Recipes: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Whether it be your career or a hobby, typically people identify with one specific talent. After just glancing at her portfolio it’s clear Shannon O’Briens talent is makeup. Yet after tasting her Quinoa Stuffed Peppers it’s safe to say cooking is a close runner up. I sat down with Shannon to discuss all things cooking, cravings, & clientele. Check out her delicious recipe below, it’s one everyone will love!

When Shannon isn’t whipping up a delicious meal she’s either spending time with her perfect little family or working like the ultimate girl boss she is. Having just had a baby, Shannon has yet to take any time off of work. The following weekend after giving birth Shannon was off doing makeup for weddings & shoots (#WonderWoman)! Guess when you’re that high in demand you don’t have much of a choice! Shannon is Chicago’s go-to makeup artist whenever celebrities are in town. Her clientele ranges from Sophia Bush to Pitbull, Robin Thicke to Dorothy Wang & so many others. How you might ask has Shannon built up such an extensive portfolio? A couple of reasons: 1. she is beyond talented 2. a positive attitude. The latter of which Shannon swears by & I can most definitely stand behind. It was such a blast hanging in the kitchen with Shannon while she whipped up this dish!

Now more about this meal! With the abundance of desserts I make on a daily basis I always love finding a simple, delicious, easy, healthy, low-cal, affordable meal to make for dinner. That’s not too much to ask for right?! Well, thanks to Shannon I’ve finally found that recipe. This dish seriously has it all. Ever since Shannon shared this recipe with us I’ve made it countless times. Plus the opportunities with it are endless–switch out quinoa for cous cous, swap cheese for chicken, switch up any and all veggies, etc.

Print Recipe

Public Lives: Shannon O'Brien | Secret Recipes: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Cuisine: Dinner

Servings: 4 peppers

Author: Public Lives, Secret Recipes

Ingredients

4 peppers, red or green
2 cups quinoa
2 large carrots, chopped
4 ribs of celery (rib=one entire piece of celery from the stalk)
garlic oil
shredded cheese, to taste

Instructions

Wash the peppers. Cut tops & stems of peppers off. Remove seeds & rinse insides with cold water.
Preheat oven to 350 F. In large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to boil over medium-high heat. Cook quinoa according to packaging.
Chop the carrots, onion, & celery. Toss to combine.
Over low-medium heat, saute chopped vegetables with roughly 2-4 tbsp garlic oil. Cook until onion is translucent. Combine quinoa with vegetables.
Fill peppers with roughly ½ tsp of cheese followed by a generous layer of quinoa mixture & repeat until final layer of cheese has been applied & peppers are full.
Fill baking dish with ¼ cup of water. Individually wrap each pepper in tin foil & place in baking dish.
Bake peppers for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!