Stuffed Peppers (by Betty Crocker)

 Tatyana asked for my stuffed pepper recipe.  This was probably the recipe I used and it's most like mine except in the recipe posted online it says to use a can of organic tomato sauce and I prefer to use a can of diced Italian seasoned tomatoes.  Your choice.  Here's the recipe:

 Betty Crocker Kitchens 

Updated Jan 17, 2022

Ingredients

• 4large bell peppers (any color)
• 1lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
• 2tablespoons chopped onion
• 1cup cooked rice
• 1teaspoon salt
• 1clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1can (15 oz) Muir Glen™ organic tomato sauce
• I prefer a can of Italian seasoned diced tomaotes.
• 3/4cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3 oz)
• Shredded cheese is added after removing the peppers from the oven. For extra cheese melt, feel free to pop the cheese-topped peppers back into the oven for a few minutes.

• Steps

• 1.  Heat Oven to 350 
• 2.  Cut thin slice from stem end of each bell pepper to remove top of pepper. Remove seeds and membranes; rinse peppers. If necessary, cut thin slice from bottom of each pepper so they stand up straight. In 4-quart Dutch oven, add enough water to cover peppers. Heat to boiling; add peppers. Cook about 2 minutes; drain.
• 3.  In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in rice, salt, garlic and 1 cup of the tomato sauce; cook until hot.
• 4.  Stuff peppers with beef mixture. Stand peppers upright in ungreased 8-inch square glass baking dish. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers.
• 5.Cover tightly with foil. Bake 10 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 minutes longer or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

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Pumpkin Hummus

 Kaiser Permanente sent me this recipe and I just made it.  So yummy, worth saving here.

What food does fall bring to mind? For many of us, it’s pumpkin. The most recent Thrive Kitchen class at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco featured many pumpkin recipes, but this one was a runaway favorite.

Hummus is a protein- and fiber-rich healthy snack. This pumpkin version is ready for the season and adds additional nutrients and flavor. Garnish with toasted pepitas, pomegranate arils, chopped Italian parsley, or just a swirl of olive oil. If you're eating as a dip, try this with broccoli or cauliflower florets, carrot sticks (rainbow carrots ideally), or whole-wheat pita triangles.

Servings: Makes 3 cups

Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can low-sodium or no salt added chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée (1/2 can)
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon fine Kosher salt

Directions

1. Purée all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 
2. Add additional water, if needed, to make a loose paste.

Nutrition information (per serving)

• Calories: 50
• Total fat: 3.5 g
• Sodium: 45 mg
• Total carbohydrate: 3 g
• Dietary fiber: 1 g
• Total sugars: 0 g
• Protein: 1 g

Chicken Legs Crockpot

 This Recipe Comes from Jim Monson (my partner teacher and friend, Donna's husband)

The original "recipe" he shared is here:

Garlic salt, oregano, onion powder and lemon pepper and cook on low for 3 and a half hours in crockpot or 10 minutes  per lb in the instapot. 🍗 

I had eaten his chicken legs at a potluck at school and they were so incredibly yummy, I started to ask for the recipe.  It took a couple years, but he finally shared the above.  There was no way I was going to ask for more, because as a former cook, I figured he hadn't shared the recipe because he just puts a little of this a little of that and trying to tell someone who doesn't cook how to do that is challenging at best, so I was grateful for the list of spices and went for it.

What I do is put equal parts of each spice into a prep bowl together and mix it up (ie.  1/2 tsp each for 6 chicken legs, 1 tsp. each for a dozen chicken legs).  I've added a splash of chicken broth to the bottom of the crockpot, or sprayed it with cooking spray.  I've sliced lemons on top before also.  It's the seasoning that makes them yummy.  You could even bake them in the oven.  After putting the garlic salt, oregano, onion powder and lemon pepper into the prep bowl, I stir it altogether and sprinkle it on the legs, turn them over and sprinkle them on the backside, then layer them into the crockpot.  Since I don't often have the luxury of putting it on low for only 3.5 hours, I usually cook it on my 4 hour setting (my highest setting on my crockpot) and it sits on warm until I get home and serve it for dinner.  That has worked just fine for me.  

Tatyana, my daughter, made them this past weekend and they were almost exactly like Jim's.  She added these notes:  I used 1 Tablespoon of each spice per 12 drumsticks and mixed the spices before splitting the mix into bags with the legs.  I cooked them in my crockpot on low for 3.5 hours.  I don't have a timer on my crockpot so it wasn't an issue, but if I wasn't around it would have been difficult.

Thai Cucumber Salad

 Ingredients

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons Splenda

1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. salt

2 large cucumbers (peeled and sliced)

3 green onions (diced)

j1-2 julienne carrots (optional)

a few thinly sliced red onion slices (optional)

Mix the dressing (vinegar trough salt).  Place cucumbers, carrots and onion into a bowl.  Pour the dressiong over the vegetables and sprinkle with green onions as a garnish.

Freezing Corn

 Last Weekend, my mom, her brother and my aunt froze 5 dozen corn.  Their cousins also posted on FB their photos of freezing corn.  Freezing Iowa corn was something my grandpa always did too, so seeing their photos made me miss him just a bit.  Today while shopping, the ears of corn were on sale and I decided to try my hand at freezing corn as well.  It's not Iowa corn, but it's still good and fresh, so why not.  I didn't have a daughter or granddaughter by my side, so I'm posting here in case one of them ever wants to try their hand at it and I'm too daft to share my experiences.

I bought 20 ears of corn and ended up with 3 quarts of frozen corn (3 cups of corn per quart bag).

Step 1:  Shuck (peel) the corn.  Pull the husks and silk off, then use water to help get the remaining silk off.

Step 2:  Boil water in a big pot.  Once it is boiling, put the ears of corn into the water and set a 6 minute timer (don't wait for the water to return to a boil to set the timer, just set it).  When it hits approximately 1 minute, put ice into a big bowl of water in preparation.

Step 3:  Using long tongs, take the corn out of the boiling water and submerge into ice water to cool immediately.

Step 4:  Using a sharp big knife (chef or chopper), hold the corn vertically and cut off the kernels, being careful not to get too much of the cob.  I put the cut corn into a big bowl after I cut it.

Step 5:  Place 3 cups of corn into a quart freezer bag and seal.  

Step 6:  Freeze.  Whenever I freeze soup or other items in a bag, I use a small cookie sheet that fits nicely into my freezer to lay the bagged items flat while they freeze.  Once frozen I remove the cookie sheet and the frozen bags stack nicely and defrost easily.  

Once you are ready to use the frozen corn, just add salt and pepper and butter with a little water and heat through.  You can also use it in recipes just like any frozen corn you'd buy at the store.  

 Sundried Tomato Chicken Cutlets

(Chicken Cutlets with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce by Eating Well)

I made this recipe last night and it was so yummy.  We made roasted potatoes and sliced a beefstead tomato to go with it.  

Ingedients

1 pound chicken cutlets (I took a regular boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut it in half to make two think chicken cutlets)

1/4 tsp. salt 

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup silvered oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, plus 1 T. oil from the jar

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots  (I didn't remember to buy so I used diced onion and a pinch of diced garlic)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 T. chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

1.  Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 tsp. each salt and pepper.  Heat sun-dried tomato oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until browned and an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees, about 6 minutes total.  Transfer to a plate.

2.  Add sun-dried tomatoes and shallots to the pan.  Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  increase heat to high and add wine.  Cook, scraping up any browned bits, until the liquid has mostly evaporated, about 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in cream, any accumulated juices from the chicken and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper; simmer for 2 minutes.  Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce.  Serve the chicken topped with the sauce and parsley.

Nutritional Facts:  Serving size:  3 oz. chicken and 1/4 cup sauce.  Per Serving:  324 calories; protein 25 g, carbohydrates 8.4 g; dietary fiber 1 g; sugars 1.8 g, fat 18.9 g; folate 17.3 mcg; calcium 50.7 mg, iron 1.6 mg; magnesium 42.9 mg; potassium 532.4 mg; sodium 249.5 mg.  Exchanges:  3 Fat, Lean Protein, 2 Vegetable.

 Black Bean Soup

This is a favorite recipe of mine from Mealime.  It's often paired with another recipe, so when I just want the soup, it's complicated to weed out the other ingredients and instructions.  I decided it would be easier to put it here.

This recipe is portioned for two people

Indgredients:

bell pepper

1/2 of a yellow onion

1/2 T. olive oil

1 clove of garlic

11/2 tsp. cumin

pinch- 1/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 can black beans

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Directions:

1.  Quarter the bell pepper lengthwise; remove and discard the stem, seeds, and membranes.  Small dice the pepper and transfer to a medium bowl.

2.  Preheat a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat.

3.  Trim off and discard the ends of the onion and remove the outer layer; small dice the onion and add it to the bell pepper.

4.  Once the saucepan is hot, add olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom.

5.  Add the bell pepper and onion to the saucepan; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3-4 minutes.

6.  Peel and mince or press the garlic.

7.  Add the garlic, cumin and crushed red pepper to the saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 - 30 secs.

8.  Add the broth and beans (with their liquid) to the saucepan; season with salt and pepper.  Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

9.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until the desired consistency is reached.  Alternatively, mash the beans with a potato masher.

10.  To serve, divide teh soup between bowls and garnish with feta.