Stuffed peppers made with leftovers

For some reason, all day yesterday, I couldn't stop thinking about stuffed peppers and how much I love them.   I knew I had about 3-4 red peppers in my fridge that were starting to look a little spent, so I really wanted to use them.  I also had some leftover couscous from the other night that I thought would work well in a stuffing...you know, to use instead of breadcrumbs.  So, when I got home from work, I just started pulling all of the things out of the refrigerator that I wanted to use up.

It's always a good idea to pre-cook the peppers a bit, because once you stuff them and put them in the oven, they always take longer to cook than the stuffing.

Of course, I started by cooking up some onions.  when they were done, I added a can of diced tomatoes, followed by the left over couscous and a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach.

I threw in about 3 cloves of garlic that I minced, and two handfuls of diced fresh mozzarella.  I usually add sweet Italian sausage, but decided to cook a package of ground lamb instead for something a little different.

Let's see....what else?  Oh, some Parmesan cheese (the ingredient that never needs measuring) and salt and pepper.  I did add a small amount of croutons because I thought the flavoring they had would give the stuffing just what it needed.

You know the rest of the story....Take your pre-cooked peppers, stuff them, and cook them in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes

Yum....'nuff said!

A good chicken dinner on a cold fall night

 

I was talking to my daughter the other day about all of the different ethnic restaurants that are around her at Boston College.  One restaurant in particular was a Tunisian restaurant.  I remember eating at one when I was in France way back when.  I never forgot how delicious the flavors were.  Basically what I had was a stew of vegetables and meat, ladled over couscous.  I decided to try to duplicate that last night, and I have to say, it came out delicious.

I started baking 2 large sweet potatoes in my convection oven.  They only took about 30 minutes.  When they came out of the oven, I cut them in 1 inch slices and removed the skin.  They will finish cooking when you add them to the dish.  Combine 1 tablespoon each of Paprika, Cumin, and Coriander, and 1 teaspoon of Turmeric.  Part of this should be added to the vegetables, and the remainder will be used to cook the chicken thighs.  Meanwhile, I cut up half of a Vidalia onion and sliced about 4 carrots.  I cooked them in a fry pan with a little olive oil until they were about half way done.  I then added 3 minced garlic cloves, and some of the seasoning.

 

I quartered the artichoke hearts and mixed them in.  I put all of this in a bowl and moved on to cooking the chicken.

 

I wanted to cook the boneless chicken thighs in the same pan the veggies were in so that it would pick up on the flavors.  I sprinkled some of the seasoning mix to each batch of chicken as it cooked.

Add the cooked chicken to the vegetables.  When I was done, I put everything back into the fry pan and tasted it.  It definitely needed salt and pepper, but otherwise the flavors were delicious.  I now pour three cups of chicken broth and gently stir.   Let this simmer for about 5-10 minutes, just long enough to mix and heat through.  The last thing I add is some parsley and about a cup of pine nuts.  I wanted to add peanuts, but my daughter didn't like them!

 The last thing to do was to make the couscous.  This literally takes 5 minutes...just follow the instructions.  I used chicken broth instead of water.

 

Put a couple of spoonfuls of couscous in a bowl and ladle some of this mixture right over it. 

Enjoy!

If you are looking for quick, easy and delicious, read on!

This is probably one of the only meals that I make where nothing is home made!  But, that's ok... I use the meatballs that I like (I usually get the frozen Swedish meatballs at Costco), Barilla pasta sauce that is pretty good for jarred sauce, and cheese.  You will also need to buy two tubes of Pillsbury French bread dough.  It is a great thing to make when you have to bring something to a party or if you are having a crew of kids over.

 

 

So, here is how you build it.

Roll out the dough to a large rectangle.  Depending on how big you want it or how thick you like the crust constitutes how much you roll it out.  It's best to roll it out or stretch it right on a cookie sheet that I have sprinkled with a little corn meal so it won't stick.  Next you add the meatballs that you have thawed (you can also add peppers, or mushrooms, or just about anything else you like).  I usually cut the meatballs in half.     Spoon the sauce over the meatballs and add as much grated mozzarella cheese as you like. And last, but not least, you roll out (or stretch out) the second bread dough and lay it on top (you might need to put some flour or cornmeal on the counter so the dough won't stick).  Pinch the edges and sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese on top. 

Pop this in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  Just keep an eye on it so that it doesn't get too brown. How easy is this?  And, you can get really creative with what you put between the two layers of dough! I hope you have fun with this one...

This is by far, the best Carrot Cake you will ever have!

So, I have to tell you.... I have had this recipe for probably 25 years or so.  I found it in a random cookbook and thought I would try it.  I think what attracted me most to it was the fact that you didn't need to drag the mixer out or use any extra bowls..the whole thing is mixed in the pan you cook it in.  How easy is that?  Plus, I love anything that has coconut and pineapple in it.  Wait until you see the "special" ingredient...

In a 9-inch square pan, mix the following with a fork:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Now for the special ingredient:  2 4 1/2 oz. jars of strained carrots.  Yup, baby food carrots!  How funny is that?  But trust me, they make it delish!

Next add 2/3 cup of oil, 2 eggs and 1/2 tsp of vanilla.  I usually blend these all together by using a whisker and quickly rolling the handle between the palms of my hands.  It is almost like using a mixer!

I pour this in and blend together.  Now it's time to add the yummy things.... 1 8-oz can of crushed pineapple, drained and 2/3 cup of coconut.  I also added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, but if your crowd doesn't like nuts, don't add them!

Now, pop it in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  I checked it at 40 minutes and it was done.  The cake tester should come out clean and the sides of the cake should be pulling away from the pan a little.

Once it has cooled, you can spread the following, yummy cream cheese frosting on top!

1 3-oz package of cream cheese. softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups confectioners' sugar

So my last little tricky tip is this.  Have you ever wondered how they made the swirls in the frosting on Entenmann's and Pepperidge Farm cakes??  Well, I'll tell you!  All you do is spread the frosting with the rounded tip of a knife, back and forth from left to right.  (don't push down too hard).  Now, take the blade side of the knife and gently drag it in the opposite direction, from top to bottom.  That's it!  If you don't like the way it looks, just spread it again from side to side and repeat dragging the knife down.

The secret is out!  Enjoy this yummy cake...

If I said Spinach, Feta Cheese and Toasted Pine Nut soup, what would you say?

 This soup is quite deceiving.  When my husband looked at it, his reaction was more like "if you want me to try it, I will..."  Then, when I served it to him, he just couldn't get enough!  The flavor is so different and delicious, I really do hope you will give it a try.  And, don't be shocked at how much spinach it calls for!  I used 3/4 of it.  Here are the ingredients:

3 tbs butter
4 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 pounds of fresh spinach leaves (4 bags, approx. 16 oz. each)
2 cups of light cream
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese (reserve about 1/4 cup for garnish)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (reserve a few for garnish)
4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a big soup pot, I melted the butter, and added the onion, celery, and garlic.  These cooked for about 5 minutes.

 When they were done, I added the potatoes, and cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Now it's time to add the white wine and chicken stock.  Bring it to a boil, then back down to a simmer for about 25-30 minutes, long enough for the potatoes to become tender.

 

 Once the potatoes are just right, you are going to start adding the spinach, one bag at a time.  Once each batch has wilted, add another bag.  (2 pounds of spinach is the equivalent of 4 large bags of spinach!  I used three...I guess I was a little bit chicken about adding the fourth, but honestly, once it wilts down, I probably could and should have used the fourth one!)

Sprinkle in the nutmeg and some salt and pepper.  Now comes the fun part!  If you have a hand blender, use that to blend everything up.  If not, you could always pour it into a food processor or blender, and mix it that way.  

After it is nicely blended, stir in the crumbled Feta cheese and the pine nuts, the cream, and the Worcestershire sauce, and simmer for about 5 more minutes.  When I tasted it, I needed to add a little more nutmeg, salt and pepper.  You will have to decide if it needs anything else.  Ladle it into your bowls and crumble some Feta on top and sprinkle with the pine nuts.

How easy was this?  I'm telling you, I think it took me probably about 45 minutes from start to finish.  If you want to cut back a little more on the time, you can start cooking the potatoes in a separate pot to get them fork tender.

Hopefully "green soup" won't scare you away!  It really is delicious.  Enjoy ~

It's a great night for some Italian Sausage Soup...

Whenever we go to Bertucci's, inevitably someone always get their sausage soup.  It just seems so basic and simple, I figured I could pretty easily make it at home.  As far as I can tell, their ingredients are rice, diced tomatoes, onion, sausage, chopped spinach (looks like frozen, not fresh), and Parmesan cheese.  Now, you know me by now, I like to add a little bit of me, so see how it turns out.  

I start by removing the casings of the sausage and break them up as they cook.  Once they are done, I put them aside and cook the onion.

Meanwhile, in yet another pan, I cook up one cup of long grain white rice,  just until it is almost done.  You can always use brown rice if you prefer, it just stays a bit too crunchy for me! Someday I am going to make this with small soup pasta instead.... call me crazy! 

I will add the rice to the soup just before serving it.  Itt breaks apart the longer it sits in the soup, which is how Bertucci's serves it, so I try to add it in at the end so it stays together a bit more.

Let's see, what's left?  Just to put it all together and let it mingle for a little while.  So, into a big soup pot goes the sausage, onion, some crushed garlic cloves (maybe 2-3), diced tomatoes, and a lot of chicken broth (I usually add at least 2 boxes).  Now is also the time to add the Parmesan cheese.   If you add it too early, it will just stick to the bottom of the pot, trust me!  Once you taste the soup, you can add however much salt and pepper you like.  You could also add crushed red pepper for a little heat. After everyone has eaten, there is usually not enough of the broth-part left, so I will add another box before I put it away (very clever on my part!)  

 So, I think that's it.  The flavors of the sausage, onion, and garlic really speak for themselves.  And I love loads of fresh spinach floating around.  Just so you know, even though it looks like you have made a ton of soup, there won't be much to have for left overs...