Stuffed Peppers

In my house we do stuffed peppers a lot.  They require a little bit of prep work, but they are hearty comfort food that still can be healthy.  I like to serve these gems with a light salad, or maybe some crusty bread in front of a good movie (cartoon, of course).  The kids even enjoy these because cooking the pepper a little brings down the sharp flavor.  So, let's get cooking:


Ingredients:

• 4 bell peppers (any color can be used)
• 1 lb. ground beef (turkey or pork can also be used)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1-14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes (not drained)
• 4 oz frozen corn
• 1 c cooked white rice
• 2 c mozzarella cheese, separated
• kosher salt and pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  First, let's take on the bell peppers.  What you want to do is cut the top off (just enough to take off the stem and create an open cavity).  Then, reach into the pepper and pull out all the seeds and as much of the veins as you can.  If you need to use a small knife to get more out just be careful not to cut yourself.  Now, in a small Pyrex dish arrange the peppers so they stand up straight.  You may have to shave a little off the bottom if one is uneven.  When I go to buy the peppers at the store I look for something that is pretty stable on it's own. 

2.  To make the filling, brown the meat in a hot skillet.  Add the chopped onion and saute about 3 minutes until soft.  Add the canned tomatoes and corn and simmer all together about 15 minutes.  The mixture will thicken a little, but don't let it get too dry.

You want to use "no salt"
so you are in control of how much salt is
in the finished product.

3.  Add the rice to the mixture and one cup of the cheese.  Season the filling with kosher salt and pepper to taste.  Then, with a large spoon, fill each bell pepper with as much of the mixture as you can stuff in there.  Top each pepper with a mound of the leftover cheese.  You should use about 1/4 cup for each pepper.  Add a small amount, about 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the Pyrex dish.  Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 30 min, or until nice and browned on top.  ENJOY!!

Side Note:  This meal can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the meat and adding more vegetables like maybe some spinach, or even eggplant.  

Meatloaf

I know a lot of people have this misconception that meatloaf is not good and that "mommy" forced you to eat it when you were little along with nasty Brussels sprouts and gross spinach.  Well, while a lot of people still don't like Brussels sprouts, spinach and meatloaf have come a long way.  This recipe has been used in my family since I can remember and there have never been leftovers!  This will be really simple to make and will be a new favorite in your house.  (The ketchup helps the kids to love it.)

I have been slacking with taking pictures, so I don't have any today.  As I thought more about it, though, you might not need to see any since this is so easy and quick.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef (ground round is best because you want a little bit of fat...not too much)
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 1 egg
• 4 oz. saltine crackers (one package from the box, crushed)
• 8 oz. tomato sauce (small can)
• kosher salt and pepper
• ketchup

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Using a large bowl, mix the first five ingredients together with your hands.  Go ahead and get messy, but remember to either have the water running, or a paper towel close to clean yourself off. 

2.  Season the mixture heavily with salt and pepper.  (I would suggest about 1 tsp. of each.) 

3.  Press the meat mixture into a loaf pan.  Keeping the dish uncovered, put it into the oven and bake for 1 hour.

4.  When the meatloaf is done, check the temp with a thermometer.  You want to see at least 165 degrees.  (It will probably be higher.)  Let the meatloaf rest for 15 min. 

5.  Now, I use a metal spatula to remove my portion from the pan.  It probably will not be a solid piece, but it will taste much better then your typical dense meatloaf.  Top each slice with a generous serving of ketchup.  ENJOY!!

P.S.-  I have made this recipe with ground turkey, but remember not to use the leanest meat at the grocery store or your meatloaf will be dry.

Beef Pasta

This is my version of a deconstructed Hamburger Helper.  I like to make this when it starts getting a little cooler outside.  Since I usually keep all these ingredients (except ground beef) in my pantry, this is a really inexpensive meal for us.  Let's get started...

Ingredients

• 1/2 small onion (chopped)
• 1 lb ground beef (turkey or pork could be substituted)
• 1/4 c red wine
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 1 c water
• 1 Roma tomato (chopped)
• 4 chopped scallions
• 4 c cooked pasta (about 1 1/2 c raw)

1.  Saute the ground beef in a large skillet until browned and cooked through.  Break up the meat with a wooden spoon as you go.  This should take about 5 minutes on medium heat.  Throw in the onion and saute until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. 

2.  Deglaze the pan with the red wine and scrape all the good bits off the bottom of the pan.  Then add the soup mix and the water and mix well to get all the lumps out.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.

3.  Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed.  The soup mix is condensed and pretty salty, so you probably won't need it.

4.  Turn off the heat and add the tomatoes and scallions.  If you would like to cook these ingredients it's up to you, but I like freshness of them being just heated through.

5.  Pour the meat sauce over some cooked noodles and serve with a nice salad and some garlic bread.  ENJOY!!

Slop, Slop, Sloppy Joes!!

We have sloppy joes a lot in our house.  The kids eat them up and I think I make them pretty healthy compared to some pre-packaged brands.  Now, we do eat them a little differently then one would think.  Instead of sandwiching the wonderful meat mixture in between two hamburger buns we pile it high on soft white bread and top it with shredded cheese.  Quick note, my daughter does not like onions or bell pepper and she has never even noticed they are in this recipe.

Let's get started...

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef (you can also use pork or turkey if you prefer)
• 1 small white onion (coarsely chopped)
• 1 med bell pepper (seeds removed, chopped)
• 1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. steak seasoning (I use Harley's)
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• white bread
• shredded cheddar cheese

Note: I don't use any oil in this recipe because the meat should give off enough.  If you are using turkey, or a very lean beef you might want to lightly coat the bottom of the pan with some oil before step #2.


1.  Brown the meat in a hot saute pan.  I use a deep dish saute pan so I can finish the entire meal in it.  Break the meat up with a wooden spoon (can also be plastic) so the meat cooks quickly and evenly.  Using a slotted spoon drain the meat onto a plate covered with a paper towel.  This allows some of the grease to drain a little.

2.  In the same pan the meat was just in add the onion and bell pepper and sweat a little, about 5 min.  Real quick...an easy way that I like to chop bell peppers is to cut around the middle seed pods.  This way I don't have to use my hands to pull seeds out and cleanup is a lot easier.

3.  Add the meat back into the pan with the onion and peppers and heat up a little.  Add the next three ingredients and let simmer for a while...about 5 min.  Now is time to taste!  I would recommend adding a small amount of salt and pepper before and then just check for seasoning. 

4.  Here I usually cover the pan and let it simmer for about 15 min.  Just like a good soup, or stew this helps the ingredients to marry together. 

5.  Now the fun part!!  Place one piece (or two like my husband) of white bread down on your plate.  Smother the bread with at least two spoonfuls of the sloppy joe mixture.  Top with shredded cheese. 

**As you can see from the finished product we like to enjoy our meal with some yummy green beans (out of the can, of course).  ENJOY!!