Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

My friend Wendy came over for dinner and we made these vegetarian stuffed peppers together.  I was able to use ingredients I had already and it turned out well.  This is a nice change from the usual stuffed peppers with ground beef.   You could also make this vegetarian meal vegan by omitting the cheese.   I think next time I will add a little tomato paste, maybe a tablespoon or two to give it a bolder flavor.  I know traditional stuffed peppers usually have a tomato sauce.  Overall this is a winner and I would gladly make it again.   I served a simple salad to go along with the stuffed peppers too.  Just toss some salad greens, a diced avocado, and a sliced cucumber together with fat-free Italian dressing.  I'm happy I was able to serve Wendy a healthy dinner!

 

 

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

4 bell peppers

2 cups rice

15 ounce can black beans

11 ounce can Mexicorn (by Green Giant)

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.   

Cut peppers in half.  Remove tops and seeds. 

Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with olive oil.  Arrange halved peppers in the baking dish.

 

In a large bowl, mix together rice, black beans, corn, cheese, cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper.

 

Spoon filling into each pepper half.  Top with additional cheese if desired.

Bake 30 minutes.

 

Serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stoup

My friend Ashley shared a slow cooker recipe with me a couple weeks ago.  I decided to try it since I needed something simple to make after my travels.  Of course I had to tweak it since I didn't have all the ingredients and just made do with what I had.  I think next time I'll follow the recipe and try to get all the ingredients because it sounds delicious.  What I ended up making turned out to be a chicken stoup, a mix of a soup and stew.  I served it over plain white rice and topped with cheddar cheese and sliced green onions.  I added in a side salad to balance the meal.  You could eat it as is.  I would also be happy serving this over egg noodles too.  Scroll to the bottom for Ashley's original recipe, thanks Ash!

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Stoup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can chicken gravy

2 ½ cups chicken broth

½ cup corn, frozen

½ cup peas and carrots, frozen

1 potato, diced

½ cup milk

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

 

 

Directions

Place all ingredients into a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. 

 

Before serving, remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks.  Place shredded chicken back into slow cooker.

 

Serve over white rice and top with shredded cheddar cheese and sliced green onions.

 

Enjoy!

Here is Ashley's original recipe that she sent to me:

Two chopped chicken breasts (we put them in whole and shredded them at
the end and dumped it back in)
1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup
2.5 cups of chicken broth
1.5 cup of corn
2 jalapeno peppers sliced
1 green bell pepper sliced
1.5cups of potatoes
1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic
1 onion chopped
1 tsp cumin

Top with crispy asian noodles and cheddar cheese.

Slow Cooker Santa Fe Chicken

I love using my slow cooker and this Santa Fe Chicken is a super simple recipe.  I am pretty sure Santa Fe Chicken was originally a casserole type dish but making it in a slow cooker is so much easier.  I have seen several slow cooker recipes where you only need chicken and salsa, but I wanted to add a little bit more.  I already had a can of black beans and a can of corn, and those work well together.  Feel free to add in kidney beans or pinto beans instead of black beans and use your favorite salsa.  Prepare the ingredients the night before and just turn on your slow cooker in the morning.  You will have a great dinner by the time you are home.  The shredded chicken is so versatile too.  I made a little bowl of the chicken, topped it with a poached egg, shredded cheddar cheese, and plain greek yogurt; and I served it with some tortilla chips.  It was delicious!  Also,  I made a bunch of burritos with the leftover shredded chicken to freeze for future meals.  I'll try to post that recipe tomorrow. 

Slow Cooker Santa Fe Chicken

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 ½  pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs (5 pieces)

15 ounce can black beans, drained

15 ounce can corn, drained

16 ounce jar salsa (I used Desert Pepper Trading Co.’s Salsa Del Rio – Medium.)

salt and pepper

Directions

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Place chicken thighs in slow cooker.

Top with drained black beans and corn.

Stir in salsa.

Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours, until chicken is cooked through.  The chicken should shred easily just by stirring after cooking.

This is great served over rice, in a burrito/taco, or as a sandwich.

Serves 6 or more.

Chili Rotini

Where did spring go???  It was in the high 70s last week here in DC and today its in the low 60s!  So I wanted something to warm me up tonight.  Chili is the answer!  Chili can be easily made on a weeknight and is such a flexible meal to make.  You can add almost whatever you want to chili.  You could make it more spicy depending on your taste.  I have even made chili in a slow cooker.  I love how versatile chili is and I wanted to share with you this basic chili recipe.  You also can serve this chili alone, without the pasta.

 

Ingredients

½  pound dry pasta (I used whole wheat rotini.)

½ to ¾ pound lean ground beef (You may use ground turkey instead.)

28 ounces  can crushed tomatoes

10 ounces can diced tomatoes & green chilies

15.5 ounces can black beans

15.25 ounces can whole kernel sweet corn

1 small onion

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon chili powder

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil

Optional Toppings

1 avocado, diced

shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend of cheddar, montery jack, colby and mozzarella cheeses.)

sour cream

corn chips

scallions, chopped

cilantro, chopped

black olives, sliced

Directions

For the pasta:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain pasta.

For the chili:

Dice the onion into bite sized pieces.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet/pan/pot on medium high heat.  Add diced onion and sauté until soft.  Next, add ground beef with salt, black pepper, cumin and 1 teaspoon chili powder.   Stir onions and beef while cooking until no longer pink. 

Add diced tomatoes & green chilies.  Add crushed tomatoes.  Drain corn and black beans and add to chili.   Stir in 1 tablespoon chili powder. 

Reduce heat to medium-low heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

You can add the cooked pasta into the chili and stir to mix or you can just serve the pasta topped with chili.  Top with cheese and/or any topping(s) you would like.

Serves 4-6.  Enjoy!