Mini/Maxi Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers

These are wonderfully flavorful, and the whole thing can be made ahead - for the refrigerator or freezer!!  It's very healthy, with brown rice, turkey sausage, and the only other fat coming from the cheese on top (which you could leave off, I suppose) I had most of a bag of those cute mini sweet bell peppers leftover from another dish, and this was the perfect way to use them up.  But you could also just use regular large bell peppers and cut them in half (for the maxi).  I've made lots of extra stuffing in the pan for kids, or others who aren't fans of bell peppers.  These could even be healthy appetizers at a buffet - enjoy!


Mini/Maxi Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers

2C dry brown rice + 4C water (or 6C cooked leftover rice)

about 12 mini sweet bell peppers, or 6 large ones, cut in half
    note - you could probably use 3-4 doz mini peppers or more, but i wanted lots of 
    extra filling for the kiddos ;-)

1 20oz package turkey italian sausage (sweet or hot)
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon marjorum
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt

28 oz diced or crushed tomatoes
8ox tomato sauce

2C shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese (or about 12 slices) (or sub cheddar, but it will be less italian ;-)

1. Heat the oven to 350.
2. Start your rice - place 2C dry long grain brown rice and 4C water in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook slowly for about 45-60 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is gone.  You can turn off the heat when there is just a small amount of liquid left, but leave the lid on to steam for about 15 more minutes.
3. Meanwhile, begin to brown the Italian turkey sausage.  If you have links, slice the skin open and remove it - cook the ground meat until it begins to brown.  Add the onions and all the spices and cook until the meat is cooked through. note - this seems like a lot of seasonings, but remember we are mixing it with all that plain rice and plain tomatoes.
4. Also meanwhile, make a long slit into the side of each mini pepper (or cut whole peppers in half, and clean out the veins).  Place the slit side down on a dinner plate, add a couple tablespoons of water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes.  Remove from the microwave to cool, but leave them covered with the wrap to continue steaming.
5. Put it all together - in a large mixing bowl, place the hot cooked rice, seasoned meat and diced tomatoes.  Toss well until combined.  Stuff each pepper with filling - it's fine to have the seam a bit open. (I tried using a small spoon, but honestly, my fingers worked better)
6. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with oil.  Pour the rest of the meat/rice filling into the dish.  Arrange the peppers on top, seam side down, squishing them down into the rice a bit.  Make them in rows, or a fun pattern!  Spoon the tomato sauce over the peppers - this keeps the skins from burning, and makes a kind of caramelized sticky crust.
7. Spray a sheet of foil with oil, then cover the dish (oil side down, of course)  Bake for 45 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, uncover, and sprinkle the whole dish with cheese (or lay slices over all).  Return to the oven (do not cover) increase temp to 400, and bake about 15 more minutes, or until cheese is bubble and browned.

For buffet appetizers, use enough mini peppers to use all the stuffing, and place them slit side up with just a drizzle of tomato sauce, and uncovered on a baking sheet.  Roast at 400 for about 20-25 minutes When they are tender and beginning to blacken, sprinkle with cheese and broil.  

The whole dish can be made ahead and kept in the fridge.  Bake for 1 hour the first time, then 15 minutes with the cheese.

To freeze, instead of spraying a casserole in step 6, line it with heavy foil.  Assemble the whole dish (without cheese) and place in the freezer until hard.  Pop the foil out of the pan, then wrap well with more foil, then plastic wrap, label and place back in the freezer.  When you are ready to cook, remove the outer layers of plastic and foil, and plop the original foiled casserole into the original pan. Bake, covered at 350 for 2 hours, then 15 minutes with the cheese.

Garden's Bounty - Summer Bean Salad

So, I've been trying to come up with ways to eat dry beans in summer.  Everyone knows that beans and rice are a super great meal (unless you're carb restricted).  They are:

• low fat
• low GI
• extremely filling
• a complete protein without meat
• very inexpensive
• easy to prepare

But in the summer, it's just not fun to sit down to a steaming bowl of soup beans.  It's way different than, for instance, hot grilled chicken, or hot spaghetti - something about eating all that hot liquid just makes you sweat.  That's why we eat beans in the winter time!

So, I've had "black bean and corn salad" and this is really just a thrown together version of that.  I used a bag of 15 bean soup (without the packet of gross seasoning) and lots of produce from my garden.  I really enjoyed the different flavors and textures of all those beans.  And I had way more ideas for ingredients that I would love to add if I had them!  I'll list them at the bottom of the recipe. 

Enjoy a filling, low fat, fresh and cool bean salad for dinner, as a side dish, leftovers for lunch - anytime!

Summer Bean Salad

1lb bag of beans (I used 15 bean mix, but black beans are a natural here)

1 ripe tomato, chopped (or 2 if you're a big fan)

1 cucumber, quartered and chopped

2 cobs corn, cut off the cob (or about 1C frozen, thawed)

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 large can black olives, chopped or sliced

salt & pepper to taste

about 1/2C balsamic vinegrette

1. Cook your beans - rince and sort out any bad beans, then cover with about 2 inches water.  Add some salt - stirring it in later will help, but it's not quite the same.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer until beans are done.  It will be a shorter time than for bean soup, and you want the beans to hold their shape, not go mushy.  Mine needed about 1.5 hours or so.  Set a timer to start checking them early.   
2. Drain in a colander, spread the beans up the sides and set the colander on a plate and put it in the fridge until cold.  Mine got about 2 hours and were cold enough.
3. Chop all your veggies
4. Pour the beans, veggies, seasonings and dressing in a large bowl and toss gently - try not to crush the beans.
5. If your beans were nice and cold, you can eat it now.  Or, refrigerate for an hour up to a few days! 
6. Serve with bread and butter or crackers to complete the protein (other foods will also work!!)

I would have loved to add any of the following to my salad:

• diced ham
• shredded chicken
• feta, goat cheese, Parmesan
• chopped avocado
• onion of some type (maybe green onions or chives?)
• leftover cold rice (complete that protein! Add extra dressing to soak in)

 

Garden's Bounty - Garden Fried Rice

I'm excited about this recipe.  It's actually not all that thrilling - kind of what I call "plain" food.  You taste the ingredients, the spices are not super rich.  But I had several goals in mind when I came up with it, and this recipe served me well.  In the future, I'll try to mark other recipes that also meet similar goals.

• Use up zucchini and squash from the garden
• Be very economical, which means I had to have things on hand and use no meat.
• Be filling and diet friendly.  I did not measure or do a calorie count, but this recipe is heavy on veggies, heavy on whole grains, light/no fats or dairy (which I understand are part of a healthy diet, but I've already eaten plenty of those today)

This would make a vegetarian main dish to serve about 3-4 very hungry people, or a side dish for 5-6.  It's super basic - wide open to changes.  Halved cherry tomatoes would be great with the squashes (mine aren't ready yet), jalapenos, banana peppers, or cayenne with the onions would make it pop.  Any other ripe veggies that you would normally saute or stir fry would fit right in.  Salsa on top would swing it mexican, without requiring sour cream or cheese.  Or go ahead and add shredded extra sharp cheddar to a plate full - believe me, I would have LOVED to eat this dish like that!

I recommend a very large skillet - look into getting the 13.25" from Lodge Cast Iron if you cook like this a lot - that's what I have.  It's worth the investment.  Also, a good, sharp metal-blade spatula that can stand up to heavy scraping to keep your food from tearing as you stir.

Garden Fried Rice

Serves 4-6

This entire recipe is cooked in the same skillet, in 2 shifts.  The ingredients marked with an * came from my garden and farm.

First Shift:
EVOO spray
3-4 small/medium yellow summer squash*
3-4 small/medium zucchini*
big handful garlic chives in 2" pieces*
2 cloves pressed garlic*
salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder, to taste

Second Shift:
2-3 teaspoons olive oil or EVOO spray

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced*
2C cold, cooked rice (preferably brown)
2C cooked/canned pinto beans (rinse well if canned in salt)
big handful basil leaves, slivered*
2-3 eggs*
salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder, to taste
chive blossoms, or other edible flowers (optional)

1.  Slice your zucchini and squash into about 1/8" pieces - they don't need to be paper thin.  Spray a very large skillet with EVOO and heat on medium/high.  Add the squash and begin to sautee.  After a few minutes, when squash begins to brown, add the garlic chives and pressed garlic and season with salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder to taste.  When squash is done to your liking, remove to a large serving bowl.
2. Pour oil or spray more EVOO into skillet - the rice likes to have a bit more oil to sizzle in, but you can do without it.  Add onions and sautee for about 2 minutes, or until beginning to wilt and scrape up bits from the bottom.  Add the beans and heat through, about 2-3 more minutes.  Crumble cold rice into skillet, and mix well, breaking up any clumps with your spatula - it's fine if the beans get a bit chopped up.
3. When everything is heated through, scrape the mixture into one side of the skillet.  Move the skillet so the burner is under the empty side.  Spray a touch of EVOO, and crack in your eggs.  Let them set up for about 30-45 seconds before gently breaking the yolk and scrambling the egg lightly.  Let set for about a minute total before scrambling the eggs together - they should start to look like a fried egg, but then you change your mind.  Scramble until the eggs are nearly done but still very moist, then pull the rice down and toss all together.  Add basil and seasonings here and continue to toss.  Taste and adjust.
4. When the rice looks nearly perfect, add the cooked squash and toss well.  Now, let your skillet sit and sizzle for a minute before giving it a toss, and let it sit again.  This gives the bottom a chance to brown nicely before getting mixed in.
5. Pour Garden Fried Rice back into your large serving bowl and garnish with flowers.  Serve with a smile!

Sausage and Smoked Turkey Casserole

This is a favorite childhood recipe that I recently had my Dad send me.  It is best made with leftover smoked turkey, but thanksgiving leftovers would probably do just fine.  Maybe add a dash of liquid smoke to make up for it.


Sausage and Smoked Turkey Casserole
(originally called "Turkey Jambalaya", although it bears no resemblance to any type of jambalaya - no tomatoes!!)

2 lbs Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage (or regular for less heat)
2 large onions, chopped
2 6oz pkgs. Long Grain & Wild Rice Mix (Like Uncle Ben's)
1 lb. fresh sliced mushrooms
2T butter
4C chopped, cooked, smoked turey (about 1.5 lbs)
2 2.5oz cans sliced black olives
2 8oz cans artichoke hearts, sliced (optional, but tasty!)
sliced green onions for garnish

Heat oven to 350

Brown sausage and onions until sausage is fully cooked.  Drain.  Add wild rice along with seasoning packets.  Add package-reccomended amount of water for 2 boxes.  Turn to a low simmer and cover, cooking until water is absorbed.

Meanwhile in a skillet, sautee mushrooms in butter.  Drain any extra liquid.  When rice is cooked add mushrooms and all remaining ingredients (except green onions)  Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with spray oil, spread casserole in dish and garnish with sliced green onions. (I cant remember how full the casserole is - you may need a 10x15 dish, or a few smaller ones...)

Bake for 30 minutes or until crispy on top and heated through.  Serve with Tabasco for those who are more heat tolerant!!

Rice Coocker Pilaf

Here's a quick way to make no-fuss rice pilaf! Use brown or white rice, do all the cooking right in the rice cooker, then you don't have to watch a pan of rice on the stove!

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1T EVOO
1 onion, chopped
2C rice (white or brown)
1/2C slivered almonds
1T italian seasoning
4t chicken bullion (or equivalent to make 4C broth)
4C cold water (or replace bullion and water with chicken broth)

Directions:

1. This recipe was made using a simple rice cooker - just one button with 'cook' and 'warm' settings.
2. Plug in the cooker, switch to 'cook' and add oil and onions - leave lid up. Cooker will slowly heat and in around 5 minutes start to sautee. Be sure to use a wooden or plastic spoon to protect your non-stick finish! Sautee onions for just a couple of minutes, until they just begin to soften. Add rice and mix well.
3. Continue to sautee until cooker switches itself to 'warm'. Add bullion, italian seasoning and almonds. Stir well, and cook for 1-2 minutes more (cooker will still be hot). NOTE - if you have bullion cubes (not granules) and need to dissolve them in hot water, use 1/2 C boiling water for the bullion and leave the rest cold.
   
4. Add cold water and stir. The water will cool the cooker enough that you can close the lid, switch to cook, and leave the pilaf until it's done!
5. Allow appx. 20-30 minutes cooking time for white rice, and 40-50 min for brown. You can make this rice slightly ahead of time, because the cooker will keep it nice and hot while you finish preparing dinner - enjoy!