Stuff a Pepper in it....

      People know how to stuff turkeys and their faces, but most forget that you can stuff other items as well. I've stuffed pork chops (so delicious), chicken (like a turkey right?), and peppers (full of meaty tomato-ness).

       I can understand the apprehension that faces people when the prospect of stuffing something is presented to them. It appears to be a time consuming task, and that ever present fear of "what happens if it bursts? falls over? splits? doesn't taste good?". Stuffed foods can seem fancy and may seem like something that is outside of your skill set, but it doesn't have to be. This is, by far, the easiest stuffed pepper recipe ever. When I was looking for a good recipe, I found some with about 17 steps where you had to blanch the peppers and line them in such a way that you would burn your hands. I wasn't looking for a recipe where injury was certain (I like to keep it a surprise).

So, here's what you need:
1 lbs ground beef or pork (I used pork)
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice (I used brown)
1 cup water
6 green bell peppers - Make sure you choose ones that are stable when set on their 'lobes'
2 - 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp Italian seasoning (equal parts basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme)
slices of Mozzarella cheese


1. Start by preheating your oven to 350°F.

2. Place the rice and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes (or just make rice in rice cooker according to instructions)

3. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the meat until evenly browned.

4. Cut off the tops of the peppers and discard the seed, stem and membrane. Cut up the top and toss in with the meat. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward.

5. In a bowl, mix the browned meat, cooked rice, 1 can of tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper.

6. Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Italian seasonings in a bowl and pour over the stuffed peppers.

7. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, basting with sauce every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender.








8. Arrange mozzarella slices over cooked stuffed peppers and return to oven to melt.

           This is a great recipe because you could do all the prep work earlier in the day, stuff the peppers and have them ready to toss in the oven as your guests arrive. You'll have them all fooled that you've been slaving in the kitchen all day to prepare such an exquisite meal.

          You could try different combinations of cheeses, herbs, sauces. One unique stuffed pepper I saw was to use roast beef (in place of ground meat), BBQ sauce, and provolone cheese to make a phili-cheese steak pepper. I might try that one next.

Enjoy!

Mel

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

             It's Thanksgiving Day (for us here in Canada) and what better way to celebrate with copious amounts of food? This year I  hosted (although Momma O and Mum P help out quite a bit), and despite all efforts, my little brother was working away at the restaurant as we feasted on the turkey goodness, so it was be just the 6 of us this time. Our menu doesn't include anything too crazy or strange, but it's all homemade. 

Here is our menu: 

• Turkey - What's Thanksgiving without a turkey? Nothing. That's what! Most grocery stores have them on sale for a few weeks before Thanksgiving, so we picked ours up and stuck it in the freezer. If you're using a frozen turkey, you'll need to thaw it before tossing it in the oven. Remove the turkey from the freezer and place it on a cookie pan in the refrigerator, keeping it in it's wrappings. Let it stand for about 24 hours per each 5 pounds of turkey. Let large turkeys stand a maximum of 5 days in the refrigerator. The giblets and neck are customarily packed in the neck and body cavities of frozen turkeys. They may be removed from the cavity near the end of the thawing period to speed up the complete thawing of the bird. Here are some Turkey cooking FAQs.
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes - Melt butter in a small frying pan and add as much crushed garlic as you'd like. Cook this garlicy goodness in the butter, but remove before the garlic turns brown. Add this to your potatoes as you mash them. Careful not to overcook your potatoes, last thing you want is goopy, sticky mashed potatoes.
• Mashed Turnips - This is a classic Pepper Thanksgiving dish. It's got just the right amount of bite and sweetness.
• Stuffing - Momma O spends days preparing her homemade stuffing (probably). It is so good, and it is such a secret recipe that she won't even let me watch her prepare it (either that, or I don't want to get up at 5am to help her).
• Brussels Sprouts - Okay, we're cheating on these this year. I bought Green Giant Frozen Brussels sprouts in butter, but that's just because my brother is working, and he was going to do Brussels sprouts and bacon.
• Corn - Fine, we also use frozen corn niblets, but these seem to retain their moisture when cooked and when you add them to your mashed potato volcano (yes, you're never to old to do that), it's just divine!
• Wine - Really, what's Thanksgiving dinner without a little vino?
• Buns – You caught me, these weren’t from scratch, but I baked them from the Pilsbury canisters. Nothing beats fresh buns to mop up that delicious gravy.
• Gravy - Homemade, of course. Don't forget to save your turkey drippings and potato water for this!
• Cranberry Sauce - As I said earlier, you'll never ever use that canned jelly junk again! It also freezes well to use for leftovers

Mmmmmm, was dinner ever delicious. Then we topped off the dinner with more wine, an ice cream cake and apple pie (recipes to come soon).

            As for the leftovers, layer them in aluminum pans: turkey, turnip, stuffing, corn, gravy, mashed potatoes, and freeze. Delicious Thanksgiving dinner at your fingertips whenever you want. Just make sure you freeze a little cranberry to go with it.

Our Fabulous Spread

Happy Turkey Day!

                                                                                        Enjoy!

                                                                                            Mel