Apr

Stuffed peppers

The first time I had one of these was not in Texas as a child. It was in Massachusetts. Yes, I said it. And it was pronounced “stuft PEH-puhs” I’ll have you know. An old boyfriend’s mother was so sweet, and she decided she would comfort my homesickness (and cravings for Tex-Mex) by making her stuffed bell peppers. Let me just say, I was so thankful for her efforts, but this is not a dish you’ll EVER find on a menu in Tex-Mex country. Poblano peppers are usually the ones stuffed, and it’s with cheese, cream sauce and chicken. She used rice, ground beef and pinto beans. 🙂 But it was the thought that counted, so I’ve decided to bring a little authentic Tex-Mex flavor to this Yankee creation. It’s easy, healthy, and pretty darn tasty. Enjoy.

Stuffed Peppers
4 servings

4 bell peppers, any color
1 cup brown rice or 1/2 cup quinoa
1 pound white meat chicken
3 TB + 2 TB cumin
1/4 + 1/2 t. salt
1/4 + 1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup (small handful) of chopped cilantro
1 cup salsa

Optional toppings: shredded cheddar or mozz, salsa, jalapenos, sour cream

1 Cook: In a rice cooker or pot, cook the rice according to package directions. In the meantime, cut the tops off of the peppers and scoop out the seeds (see photo). Set the peppers and the tops aside. Cut the chicken into small chunks (1/2 inch cubes). Heat a wok or large skillet on medium high. Add 1/4 cup water and the chicken and let cook for two minutes. Season with 3 TB cumin, 1/4 t. salt, 1/4 t. garlic powder and red pepper (optional). Continue to stir and saute until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Set aside.

2 Combine: Once the rice is cooked, stir in the black beans and 2 TB cumin, 1/2 t. salt (if unsalted beans), 1/4 t. garlic powder, and the chopped cilantro. Preheat oven to 375.

3 Fill: Line a baking pan with walls with foil. (I usually use a 9-inch round for 4 peppers). Using a tablespoon, layer the rice & beans mixture, then 1 TB of salsa, then several bites of chicken multiple times until the pepper is filled to the top. You should have no more than 4 sets of layers. Finish the pepper by placing the top piece back on. Repeat this for the rest of the peppers. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until peppers are slightly soft on the outside and the contents inside are piping hot. Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, jalapenos and salsa, if you like.

Enjoy the peh-puhs!

Happy eating!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL

beans/bell pepper/black beans/cheese/chicken/green peppers/rice

May

Summer and Mangoes

Matt grilled burgers last night. They were delicious! I haven’t been eating much (any) beef lately, but I wanted a burger and he obliged.

Burgers

Grilled corn on the cob

Grilled squash

Summer salad

I thought a colorful salad would be fun with it, but nothing typical and boring. Plus, it’s (almost) summer…why not mix it up?

Summer Salad
*4 servings*

6 cups baby spinach or lettuce of your choice

1/2 cup chopped: strawberries, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper

Mango Madness dressing (recipe below)

Toss salad. That’s it. It’s pretty, colorful, and really really healthy. The crunch of yellow bell pepper goes really well with soft, sweet strawberries. Who knew? Not I, said the fly.

And now for the dressing…I added 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, but if you want less of a kick, go for 1/4 teaspoonful.

Mango Madness Dressing (ole!)
makes 1 1/2 cups dressing, 6-10 servings

1 large mango

Juice and zest of one lime

1/2 cup cilantro

1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1 TB agave nectar

Process all ingredients in food processor, mixing until smooth. Top on salad, dip for fruit/veggies, sandwich spread, salsa with chips.

Here’s how I slice a mango:

Take your knife and cut around mango lengthwise. Twist two halves of mango in palms in opposite directions, to loosen fruit from giant seed.

Holding half of the mango in one palm, carefully slice the mango horizontally and vertically, taking care not to slice through to the peel (and your hand).

Flip the sliced mango inside out and pull or slice off the mango chunks.

*This method avoids mushy, mucky mango mess and gives you clear cut cubes of mango. I learned this from Cafe Red Onion, a Latin fusion restaurant in Houston.

The end result…a creamy HEALTHY mango dressing! Ole!

My happy plate…

Happy Wednesday! Matt and I are having a picnic in the park tonight! We’ve never done that before, and the menu includes sweet and sour chicken drumsticks, spinach orzo salad, healthy potato salad, and homemade hummus! I’ll show you more later. Salud!

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL 1 Comment

cilantro/dressing/green peppers/mango/salad/strawberry

Sep

Mailmen, Donuts, and Be Careful what you wish for…

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

For some reason, my lengthy private school education in Houston never educated me on the history of Labor Day. Perhaps Wikipedia will fill in that goal in my otherwise acceptable education…all about reconciliation with the labor unions and movement of the 1800s. Perhaps President Cleveland would be upset to know that the middle school across the street from us HAD SCHOOL TODAY! Poor teachers. It was weird to know that the parents were off from work when the kids were in school…backwards or something.

Anyhoo, Matt & I had a great Labor Day holiday! We worked all weekend, but both had today off. (YAY! This doesn’t happen every week!) So we started making plans. Half Price Books in Austin, gourmet cheese & wine picnic in the park, road trip…eh, we wanted to relax.

I’ve been craving donuts (I know, terrible…), and it reminded me of Voodoo Donuts in Portland. I mean, vegan happiness in a round pastry topped with Fruit Loops!

Matt braved the grocery store on his day off (what a great guy!) and bought some treats. He came home with a surprise main course (2 salmon wheels, one stuffed with spinach and feta and the other with lobster)! We began to cook. Our watering mouths cause the dinner hour to suddenly be bumped up to 4:00.

Now let me preface…Matt mentioned that we are supposed to get thunderstorms for the majority of the week, and checked out weather.com, one of my favorite places. I have to admit that I love the eeriness of knowing that a storm could come. It’s one of those moments that gives you chills and reminds you that this world is a whole lot bigger than yourself, and I think it makes us human and helpless but also know God’s way bigger than us. So Matt saw the “lineup” of the next tropical storms. Now, if you live in the northeast, you might not know what I’m talking about. The “noreasters” they have are treacherous storms, no doubt, but my yankee friends don’t get the joy from NAMING STORMS like those of us in the south take on. I know, it’s stupid and strange, but naming storms just makes it seem a little more temporary and a little less scary, I suppose. SO Matt saw a very special name for a storm…Tropical Storm Matthew.

I learned something new about my husband…he has been hoping his whole life that there would be a hurricane named Matthew. Is that sick or cute? I don’t know. I DO KNOW that I gave up on them naming one Hurricane Laurel back in Kindergarten…it just wasn’t going to happen with a name like that. But Matt got one!

Little did he know what else he would get….

Matt, shielding the salmon from rain’s destruction

…A CRAZY, RANDOM DOWNPOUR!

We were prepping dinner, looked out the window and saw sunny skies turn into a monsoon within a matter of seconds. So weird, Texas skies. So Matt protected the fire from sizzling out and the salmon from swimming away. (sorry, so corny) And everything turned out really well! It was one of my favorite dinners!

The Menu:
*Spinach dip with veggies and chips
*Salmon (one with spinach & feta and one with lobster)
*Bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed with Mozzarella & Jalapenos (seeds OUT)
*Grilled Green Peppers, Zucchini, and Garlic
*Giant corn muffins
*Blackberry pie


Tasty Dinner

Ole! Our tastebuds were happy and stomachs were full, but not too full for dessert (3 hours later)!

PAULA AND LAUREL’S BLACKBERRY PIE
(Southerners pronounce it “paw”)

So I watched Paula Deen the other day while cleaning up. She and her son made a 5-minute blackberry pie. I’ll vouch for that, except mine took 6 minutes because I added a little citrus for flava! I bet you didn’t know Paula and I cook together…

THE PIE

1 carton blackberries (or 2 for a larger pie)
4 TB blackberry jam
1 orange and/or lemon
1-2 small tubs of Cool Whip (fat free or sugar free are good!)
1 t vanilla extract
graham cracker crust (homemade or store-brought)

Easy, easy, easy!
1) Put blackberries and jam in a bowl, using fork to crush berries a bit. Mix together.
2)With grater or microplane (I broke my new one in today!), sprinkle orange/lemon zest. I used about 1 teaspoon of lemon and 1 teaspoon of orange for a large pie.
3) Pour blackberry mixture into cooled graham cracker crust.
4) Mix vanilla into cool whip (one tub for “regular” sized pie, two tubs for large pie) for added flavor. Then spread cool whip on top of blackberry mixture.
5) Add extra berries and mint leaves on top for decoration. Eat!