A New Year To Make a Healthy Change/Stuffed Peppers

A great big HAPPY NEW YEAR to you!!!

I spent the last afternoon of 2016 at a memorial service for a wonderful lady who had truly lived her life to the fullest. Her son commented that although he misses his mother, he really can't mourn as she saw her 91st birthday, lived a full life to the very end, and died peacefully at home. In fact, only about 6 months before she died, she traveled to New York with her family, and rather than they wait on her, she waited on them! Amazing!!! The service was truly a celebration of her life, a life well lived. 

I went back and forth on what I would post today. I do have an announcement about a new series on the blog that I am super excited about. But rather than announce that today, I thought I would start the new year out on a healthy note, keep with our regular recipe post, and make the announcement tomorrow, Monday.

A friend of mine was over for lunch one day. I made a tuna salad and a few other items to go with it. She asked me if I had posted the recipe. I told her that I wasn't going to post something as what I think to be a simple and basic tuna salad. Her response was that I should start posting more of the things that I think are rather mundane and ordinary, and she added..."because they are really good!" I have really nice friends :)

I'm not posting a tuna salad recipe today :) I love bell peppers, and for me, they are pretty basic food. I always try to make a big batch so that I have a few for the freezer, and a few for another meal later in the week. I posted a vegetarian version HERE that I enjoy. For those of you who enjoy a little meat, the one I'm posting today includes chicken sausage. The market where I shop makes a wonderful chicken sausage that is organic and has very little fat. If you decide to give the recipe a try, use whatever meat you would like...or leave the meat out all together and enjoy a vegetarian version.

If you would like a meat version, begin by browning 1 lb. of the meat of choice. I really recommend a good chicken sausage. Once browned and cooked through, remove from the pan and discard any fat that is left behind.

I begin by sauteing onion, celery, garlic, and bell pepper in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until the vegetables are tender. 

  

I then add 2 shredded carrots, and continue to cook until the carrots are tender. Only takes a few minutes.

I then add 10 oz. of chopped spinach. It may seem like a lot, but it really isn't as the spinach will wither down to practically nothing.

Once the spinach has withered, I add a 25 oz. can of diced tomatoes. I like the fire roasted version. To cut down on the acidic taste of the tomatoes, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. 

Once the tomatoes are combined into the mixture, add 2 tablespoons of fresh pesto. You can find my recipe HERE. Add 

1 1/2 teaspoons of dried oregano, and 1 teaspoon of dried thyme. Mix well and add meat if you are using. Add 2 cups of cooked brown rice and mix well. I also add maybe a teaspoon of crushed red pepper as I like a little spice :)

While the vegetables are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling, add the seeded peppers. Reduce the heat and cook the peppers for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and drain well. 

Now here is where you do not need to follow my lead...

Stuff the peppers to the top with the mixture, place the caps on top, and fill the center with ketchup. Forgive me, I just really like ketchup on my stuffed peppers!

Add about 1/2" of water to the baking pan. The water will help to keep the peppers nice and moist while cooking. Cover the peppers with foil and bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove the foil and continue to bake another 15 minutes. 

If you have leftover stuffing, it makes a great lunch. Just top it over some left over rice. I like to add maybe 1/4th of a sliced avocado.

Cut up the avocado and combine. Dig in and enjoy!

If you would like to give the recipe a try, here's a list of the ingredients;

Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 lb. of chicken sausage or meat of choice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 large carrots shredded
10 oz. spinach chopped
1 25 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons prepared pesto
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups cooked brown rice
8 large bell peppers, seeded

This is a great recipe for packing in a bunch of vegetables into your meal.

Wishing you a year of abundant health!
Rhonda

Eating For Your Future/Stuffed Bell Peppers

About eight years ago, my husband and I were invited to a destination wedding in Ireland. The wedding was lovely and magical, just as a wedding should be. And yes, they are still married :) 

After the wedding we decided to continue our stay in Ireland and do a bit of touring. Saw lots of castles, the beautiful seashore, and of course the rolling green hills. Finding a vegetarian meal could be a bit difficult, but I managed. One night, we ate at a restaurant that served stuffed bell peppers. They were vegetarian, and really delicious! So I decided to come home and work on the recipe until I had something I really liked.

I begin by sauteing onions and celery. I then add minced garlic, a shredded carrot, chopped kale, and chick peas. 
 

I then add brown rice and a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. The mixture simmers while the peppers boil in water for a few minutes.

Just before I stuff the peppers, I add crumbled feta cheese and mix well.

I then pack the peppers and do my best to match the lids ;)

And then, probably horror of horrors to some of you, I fill the hole of the lid with ketchup. I really like the ketchup! Of course, you could omit it all together, or use tomato sauce if your prefer.

Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

6 green bell peppers

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion diced

1 large stalk celery diced

1 large clove of garlic minced

1 large carrot shredded

1 packed cup chopped kale

1 15 oz. can chick peas drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1 28 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

While waiting for the water to boil, heat the oil in a large pan. 

Add onion and celery and cook until tender. 

Add garlic, shredded carrot, chick peas, and chopped kale. Continue to cook until kale has withered.

Add cooked brown rice, tomatoes, and dried oregano. Stir well and allow the mixture to simmer while preparing the peppers.

Once water has come to a boil, add the peppers to the boiling water. Be sure to remove all seeds and stem. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the water and drain.

Before stuffing the peppers with the vegetable mixture, add crumbled feta cheese and mix well.

Stuff peppers and place the de-stemmed top on pepper. If you would like, fill the hole with ketchup.

Place peppers in a backing dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven, serve and enjoy!

If you would like a vegan form of this recipe, just omit the feta cheese.
This is a great dish to make if you are having vegetarian friends over for dinner. They will be so happy! For your non-vegetarian friends, you can always serve your meat of choice on the side and then everyone is happy :)
Enjoy!
Rhonda