Stuffed Bell Peppers

First, I have to apologize for a lack of photos lately.  Our camera is temporarily out of order, and for some reason, when I try to send an email with a photo from my iPhone, it won't go through.  Hopefully, our regular camera will be operational again soon!

Second, I've been wanting to make stuffed peppers for the last two weeks.  I've looked around online (and, yes, even on Pinterest!) for recipes, and I didn't quite have the ingredients for what I found.  So, I decided to improvise and make my own!  These have been tried by the family and devoured, so it's even kid approved.  ;-)  With twelve pepper halves, this is a pretty big recipe, so adjust as needed.  All three of my boys LOVE bell peppers, so this amount will not have a problem sticking around too long.

6 bell peppers, any or all colors!
Olive oil
20 ounces ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons taco seasoning, or to taste (I used between 2-3 tablespoons)
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 generous handful of Mexican Blend shredded cheese

Heat oven to 375F degrees.

Cut bell peppers length-wise in half and take out the seeds.  Thoroughly wash the peppers and lay them, cut side up, in two 13 x 9 glass pans.

Heat a swirl of oil in a large skillet, then add the turkey and onion and cook until browned.  Turn off heat.  Add taco seasoning and blend well.  Then add the rest of the ingredients, mixing well.

Scoop ground turkey mixture into each bell pepper half to fill it. (I did have some leftover filling that we will use for burritos for lunch tomorrow.)  Top pans with foil and bake in 375F oven for 40 minutes.

We topped ours with salsa and plain Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream).  This is a meal in itself, but of course, you can always serve with a salad or whatever tickles your fancy.  The younger boys wanted bread and butter with theirs, so that's what they had!  :-)

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Lunch

Once you have your sweet potato baked, this lunch is simple and fast to throw together!  It is very yummy, and very filling.

1 baked sweet potato
Brown rice
Black beans, drained and rinsed
Salsa
Plain Greek yogurt

No measuring here, just load it how you want!  Split open your sweet potato and mash it up a bit.  Stuff with brown rice and black beans.  Top with salsa and a dollop of Greek yogurt.  I like to eat this with a small side salad, fruit, and a small glass of milk.  As long as I ate a good breakfast, this lunch holds me over until dinner time, with maybe a small, healthy snack in between.

Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast

Here is one of my current favorite breakfasts!  It is simple, delicious, and filling.  Makes one serving, but feel free to increase the recipe as needed.

Cream of Wheat-Original
1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
1/2 banana, cut lengthwise into quarters, then sliced

Prepare one serving of Cream of Wheat according to directions on box.  Stir in the peanut butter until well blended, then fold in the bananas.  Eat, and enjoy!

French Bread Pizza

As long as you have everything for it in your kitchen, French bread pizza is a very easy and tasty meal to throw together!  You can use whatever French bread you like, whether it's homemade or store-bought.  I like to try to always keep a couple of loaves of my homemade French bread in the freezer, so that I'm always ready to make this just in case I'm having "one of those days" where I need something quick to throw together for dinner.

I'm not putting in an ingredients list here, because the amounts are totally up to you and are better eye-balled than measured.  This post is more to help with assembly and baking.  :-)  Just make sure you have a loaf of French bread (my family needs AT LEAST 2 loaves), your favorite pizza sauce (we just use our favorite jarred spaghetti sauce from Aldi), shredded mozzarella, and your favorite pizza toppings.

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Get out a baking sheet but do NOT grease it.

Cut your loaf of French bread lengthwise in half.  Depending on the size of your pan and the length of the bread, you may need to cut it crosswise in half as well.  Lay the bread, cut side up, on the baking pan.  Spread pizza or spaghetti sauce on the cut sides, then top with whatever toppings tickle your fancy.  We like to be what most people would call boring and just use pepperoni on some and plain ole cheese on the rest.  ;-)  When your satisfied with the toppings, sprinkle on the cheese.  Use as little or as much as you want!  Or, at least as much as the bread can handle.  LOL!  Have fun with this, it's the beauty of making your own stuff!  :-)

Once the oven is preheated, slide the pan with the pizzas into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, just until the cheese is melted and browned lightly.  Pull the pan out, cut into pieces of desired size, and enjoy!

Basic Pancakes: Dairy and Sugar Free

I wanted pancakes this morning and almost made the mistake of using a mix, with the intentions of just replacing the milk with coconut milk beverage.  Then I smacked my forehead as I looked at the ingredient list...Duh!  It was a BUTTERMILK pancake mix.  That was not going to work, so I got out my cookbook and looked up a pancake recipe.  I adapted it to make it dairy and sugar free.  Granted, it's not gluten free, but that can easily be fixed by replacing the flour with a gluten-free flour, such as white rice flour or almond flour.

Here's my version.  They turned out great!

1 cup all -purpose flour
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup coconut milk beverage (NOT canned coconut milk, but such as is found here)
2 tablespoons olive oil

1.  In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in the center of dry mixture and set aside.
2.  In another medium mixing bowl combine the egg, coconut milk, agave nectar, and olive oil.  Add mixture all at once to the dry mixture.  Stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy).
3.  For standard-size pancakes, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet.  Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden brown, turning to second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry.  Serve warm

Now, instead of butter, I spread a little coconut oil on mine.  Also, make sure you watch any other toppings you want to use, to make sure they are dairy-free.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

I made this for dinner last night and it was a huge hit! I took a basic recipe and modified and tweaked it to make it my own.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 can chicken broth
water
1 10-12 oz. bag frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup flour
1 T chicken broth powder (I have a bucket of the Knorr brand from Sam's Club)
Pepper to taste
4 cups milk (roughly, I didn't measure, but that's my guess)
A recipe of your favorite drop biscuit dough, already made (I just used Bisquick)
*You will not notice any salt in this recipe because between the broth and the broth powder, there's plenty!

1. Place the chicken in a large stock pot and pour the broth over it. Pour in enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, and boil, covered, about 18-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Dump in the bag of frozen veggies about halfway through.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour, broth powder, and pepper; cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Slowly stir in the milk, using a whisk to make it smooth. Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook about 2 minutes until thick, then take off the heat.

3. Back to the chicken...when it's done, leave the broth simmering and remove the chicken to shred roughly. Carefully put the shredded chicken back into the pot and bring back to a boil. Stir in the milk mixture and bring it back to a gentle boil. Gently drop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough onto the top of the stew. Keep it at a very gentle boil (almost a simmer), cover, and cook about 15-20 minutes. Do not stir! When it is done, the dumplings will look wet on the outside, but when you stick a fork in them and lift a piece out, it will looked as though it was baked (like a biscuit) inside.

This is basically a one-pot meal, so I just served it hot in bowls, and everyone ate it up. ;)

Lisa

Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup milk
1 box stuffing mix (such as Stove Top) with seasoning packet
1 2/3 cups water
Place chicken in crockpot.  Mix cream of mushroom soup and milk until smooth; pour over the chicken.  Mix together the stuffing mix, seasoning packet (some brands already has the seasoning mixed in) and water.  Let soak for about a minute and then pour over the soup mixture.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Enjoy!

Homemade "hamburger helper"

We had this for dinner last night with salad and garlic bread.  Yummy!
1 lb. lean ground beef
10 oz. egg noodles
2 14-15-oz. cans tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
salt to taste
Brown the ground beef and drain.  In a separate pan, prepare noodles according to the package directions; drain.  Mix together the noodles, beef, and rest of ingredients; serve immediately.  Makes about 8 cups.