Stuffed Peppers

I'm very behind in blogging and so I don't remember exactly how I did these (sorry), but the general idea of a stuffed pepper was easy & pretty tasty and we'll definitely try them again. Ha, granted they'll be different next time based on what we have on hand :)  Have I mentioned I stink at following recipes?

Back in the day, I took a college drawing class, and we had to buy a green bell pepper and draw it for 10 weeks as it turned from green to red, then slowly wrinkled and quickly collapsed & decayed.  It was amazing and actually very beautiful to watch it age.  Even when it was rotten, the skins peeled back to reveal thousands of seeds ready to carry on and give birth to new life. 

Hehe, it's dorky but I've loved the shape and colors of peppers ever since.  So, I couldn't pass up a bag of 6 red bells from Costco while shopping the other day :)  I went ahead and made them all and we enjoyed them for dinner, and then the following day for lunch as leftovers. 

Ingredients:

• 6 red bell peppers
  (*sounds like a lot but I had a bag of them I wanted to use up!  If you only have 2 or so on hand, just use your judgement and make less of the stuffing, knowing there's no exact science to pepper-prepping)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 3 stalks & leaves celery
• 1/2 red onion
• ~1/3 cup of diced sun dried tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat orzo
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• ~1/2 cup feta
• ~1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350.  Core and remove the insides of your bell peppers and cut the bottoms flat (removing as little as possible) so that the peppers will "sit up right" in a baking dish.  Dice up your veggies and saute until soft in olive oil.  Meanwhile, prepare your orzo (or other rice/pasta).  Fold the prepared pasta into the veggie mixture adding the bread crumbs, spinach and feta until you reach your desired consistency of pepper filling. 

Then, fill your peppers and fit them side by side in a baking dish. (cute!) Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350 for ~20 mins until the peppers are softened.  *Hint, you may want to rub them in olive oil and season lightly with salt & pepper before filling & baking.  I didn't do this, but may try this next time just to give them a bit more flavor.  *Here are a couple of pics from the pepper process:

Sauteing the veggies & canned tomatoes in olive oil


adding whole wheat orzo, Italian bread crumbs, feta and fresh baby spinach

stuffed peppers, ready for some oven lovin'

*Drats, we pulled them out and ate them up before I got an "after the oven-lovin'" picture, but they looked basically the same, just a little more cooked through... next time kalamata olives, capers, the add-ins are endless!

Paula's Butterscotch Dip



Easy and good for a crowd with lots of 'dippers', Paula's Butterscotch Dip is a new fav of mine :)  We used marshmellows, pretzels, dried apricots, granny smith apples, red grapes, strawberries and Pirouette wafer cookis as our 'dippers.'

*Caution: I halved her recipe (hers is below) and still had tons left over, so consider that if you try it.

Ingredients:

• 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 2 (12-ounce) bags butterscotch morsels
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, transfer to a bowl and serve with fresh fruit.

Orzo Salad with Roasted Garlic & Dijon Dressing

Another salad?  yes, but salads are good for you and this one has a bit of a kick with a pan roasted garlic & Dijon mustard dressing :)  Warning: the vinaigrette is strong, but we really enjoyed it.  We love easy salads like this during the week because they're flavorful, healthy and work well for lunch leftovers the next day.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat orzo
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach or romaine
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

For the vinaigrette:

• ~6 garlic cloves (recipe calls for 10, I used less.)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2T red wine vinegar (*could add lemon juice instead or in addition to)
• 1T Dijon mustard
• salt & pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

For the vinaigrette:  In a small skillet, combine the garlic cloves and the oil. Over a low heat, caramelize the garlic until browned and soft, about 20 minutes. Transfer garlic cloves to a blender or food processor. Add the vinegar and mustard. Blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the reserved garlic oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cook orzo pasta al dente.  Whisk vinaigrette ingredients together. Toss veggies and cooked pasta with dressing.

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros are yummy and they're especially nice with fresh salsa & black been puree.  Layered in cute little ramekins and they look pretty for brunch (or Brinner in our case).  Here's the recipe I loosely followed... Huevos Rancheros with Black Bean Puree.

... and a peek inside

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Mmm, Roasted Red Pepper soup :)  Use this recipe if you happen to have everything it calls for on hand, but also don't be scared to add/substitue veggies per your preference.  For instance, I added a couple stalks of celery, and lots of fresh basil before blitzing with an emersion blender (you can also use your blender or food processor).  We didn't have a potato on hand, and some reviewers suggested a splash of cream at the end, or butter.  The freeing thing is it's just soup - there are a thousand ways to make soup :)  *The mascarpone was lovely, though, and we ate way more croutons than pictured here!

Potato & Edamame Salad

We're always looking to incorporate more veggies into our meals so here's a simple roasted potato salad with edamame, tomatoes, feta, chives and a grainy mustard vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

• ~1lb bag of mixed baby potatoes (I bought a bag with purple, red & white fingerling)
• ~1/2 16oz bag of frozen edamame
• 1 pint mixed colorful plum & cherry tomatoes, I used red & yellow
• 1 bunch of fresh chives 
• ~1/2 cup of crumbled feta

For the vinaigrette:

• juice of 1 lemon, ~1/4 cup
• 1T grainy Dijon mustard
• 1 clove minced garlic
• ~1/2 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper

Preparation:

This recipe is really just a loose guideline.  Add anything you like to this salad of sorts (red pepper, garbanzo beans, crumbled bacon, etc - it could all be good).  I halved and roasted the potatoes in the oven at 400 until tender with slightly crispy skins (~15 mins, with olive oil and salt & pepper), prepared the frozen edamame per directions on the package, and tossed in the cut up veggies.  I whisked together the vinaigrette ingredients and tossed the salad all together.