Tag Archives: food

Sunday Dinner: Stuffed Peppers

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I usually like to make something for dinner on Sunday night that will have enough leftovers to be my lunch for the week.  Whatever I make sets the tone for the week and it’s nice to not have to think about throwing something together or resorting to unhealthy choices during the day.  This weekend was relaxing but active, so I wanted comfort food.  Stuffed peppers have always been one of my favorite dishes that my mom makes, but through the years I’ve added a few twists of my own.

1000 Wonderful Things_Stuffed Peppers

 

Stuffed Peppers

-Preheat oven to 350.

Ingredients
– 3 bell peppers
– 1 package ground turkey
– 1 package frozen Trader Joe’s brown rice – they sell this in boxes in the frozen section and they come in individually microwavable packages.  It cuts the brown rice prep time down to 3 mins instead of an hour.  You can also use regular brown rice of course, cook according to directions.
– 1 small can corn
– 1/2 onion chopped
– 1 can tomato soup mixed with 1/2 can milk or about a 1.5 cups of pre-made tomato soup (I like the Pacific kind in the box).
– grated cheddar cheese

-Wash and de-seed 3 bell peppers (red is my favorite, but if you prefer green, yellow, or orange go for it) and cut them in half hot-dog ways – see above photo.
– Brown the turkey and drain off excessive fat.
– Meanwhile microwave the frozen rice, or if you’re using normal brown rice, cook that.
– In the same pan you used for the turkey saute the onion until it’s translucent and has softened.
– Add the drained corn to the onion and sauté.  Sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons of cumin and 1 teaspoon chili powder.
– In a big bowl mix the turkey with the onion and corn and add the rice.  Taste it at this point and if it needs more flavor add more cumin and chili powder.
– Arrange the pepper halves in a baking dish and fill them with the turkey, rice, onion, and corn mixture.
– Gently pour the tomato soup over the top of the peppers letting it fill in the crevices, it’s okay if it spills over a little.

IMG_7792
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until peppers are soft.  In the last 5 minutes of baking sprinkle with grated cheese and cook until melted.

1000 Wonderful Things Stuffed Peppers

 

Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

I love these because they are very easy to change according to what you have in your fridge or cupboard.  I’ve added chopped black olives, mushrooms, green chilies, chopped spinach, or chopped tomato to the insides mixture before, all with great results.

There will probably be quite a bit of filling leftover, I usually freeze part of it or just put in the fridge and use for tacos, add it to chili, or just eat it straight.

Looking forward to a low-key week on my end with lots of running, gym and yoga time.

xx

-h

Chai Shortbread Cookies with Pink Salt

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Aw Fall, time for Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin anything. To be honest, I love pumpkin flavored things and I’m especially a sucker for those lattes, but sometimes I get a little burnt out on the pumpkin. When I was tasked with bringing dessert for family dinner the other night and knew we were having pasta, I went with cookies. I figured they would be a *little* lighter then anything else.

S and I have been able to talk pretty frequently while she is in Kenya via imessage or email and she reminded me what a huge part of the culture chai is there.

So, thinking of S, when I found this recipe for Chai Shortbread Cookies, I was excited to test it out.

I used Caffe D’Amore Chai Serenity Mix that my friend K gave me awhile ago, but any chai powder mix will work.

When I tasted the cookies once they were done baking, I didn’t think they had super strong chai flavor, so after spreading the chocolate on top I decided to add a pinch of the powder plus a sprinkle of salt. For the salt, I used Pink Himalayan from World Market because it has a milder flavor and I like pink.

The sprinkle of chai mix on top added intensity, but using actual chai tea leaves would make it even more flavorful.

Think I’ll eat one of the extras over an afternoon tea tomorrow.

xx,

-h

Nacchoooooooo

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Sometimes when you’ve had a few too many to drink the night before you need comfort food that will put you back on your feet. For me, that is usually some sort of Mexican delight including cheese. Last weekend, I decided I needed some nachos but we didn’t have any chips. *Dramatic groaning and noises.* R said he would go to the store for me but I was being a baby, “noooo, it’s fiiiine”. I remembered that in the freezer we had a huge stack of corn tortillas and decided this was the perfect opportunity to heat up some oil and make my own chips.

It’s pretty simple, heat oil in a heavy bottom skillet such as a cast iron until when you drop a fleck of tortilla in it sizzles. Cut your tortillas into chip sized pieces. I started by doing quarters and then decided sixths would be better. Fry 4-5 pieces at a time, flipping after 30-45 seconds and transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and lime juice and let cool.

Then you know what the next steps are. On a baking sheet, layer chips, cheese, whatever meat you like (in this case – SHRIMP!), tomatoes, olives, green onion, etc. The key to good nachos is in the layering. You don’t want to eat the first chips off the top and then get to the bottom and have chips without cheese melted on them. That would be sad. Bake until all the cheese is melted and serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and hot sauce.

Happy nacho-ing.

xx

-h