Stuffed Bell Peppers- easier than you think!

What does one do when Wegmans is having a sale on big bags of beautiful bell peppers?  Stuff them!

I reviewed a few recipes for stuffed peppers on foodnetwork.com, and combined some of their insights to make my own (superior) recipe.  Healthy and delicious as always :)


INGREDIENTS:

1 c uncooked brown wild rice

2c low sodium vegetable stock

½ pound lean ground turkey

½ c chopped red onion

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large handful of fresh baby spinach, chopped

black pepper to taste

sea salt to taste- remember, you’re gonna be eating an entire bell pepper here, so make sure you use  
       enough salt

pinch of cayenne powder

2T chopped fresh oregano

4 bell peppers, any color

3T shredded Parmesan cheese

3T plain Panko breadcrumbs- whole wheat, if available

Honestly, this recipe tastes best when made with chorizo instead of ground turkey…but it's still pretty close to New Years, so we’re all still trying, right?

DIRECTIONS:

Boil the vegetable stock or broth & cook the rice in it; cover & set aside.

Chop everything that needs to be chopped.

Wash the peppers and cut out the tops.  You will want to remove the seeds and the white stem things inside.  Discard the seed pod and the stem, but if there is pepper flesh surrounding the stem that you've cut out, salvage it and chop it up too for adding in with the garlic and onion. 

Stand up the peppers in a pot that is just big enough to fit them all.  You may want to slightly cut the bottoms of the peppers if they are lopsided so that they stand up straight, but don't cut deep enough to make a hole in the pepper!

Preheat the oven to 400

Brown the turkey over medium heat with salt, pepper & cayenne.  When turkey is nearly cooked, add the garlic/onion/pepper tops and cook until the veggies are soft and turkey is fully cooked.  Turn heat to LOW (or OFF if your rice is still hot) and add the spinach & oregano and any other spices you want to add. 

Add the rice and mix everything all together.  Sample to make sure you have seasoned it enough- my favorite part :D

Spoon it all into the 4 bell peppers.

In a little bowl, combine the bread crumbs, shredded cheese, and a little more crushed pepper (I prefer Rainbow Peppercorns) and spoon it over the now-stuffed bell peppers.

Carefully add about 1/2 to 1 inch of water to the bottom of the pot.   

Bake in oven for 30 minutes.  If the topping is browning too quickly, cover with foil.

Serve hot.

I really like this method- I think blanching & refreshing the peppers beforehand is kind of overkill.  Plus, baking them this way, instead of cooking them swimming in sauce, really helps the peppers maintain their structural integrity, shape, color (vitamins!), and gives the dish a fresher taste.  And, of course, eliminating a needless sauce logically eliminated needless calories and needless kitchen prep- double bonus!

From our friends at livestrong.com where I crunched the numbers, each stuffed pepper contains the following:

Calories 283

Total Fat 5.8g

            Saturated Fat 1.7g

Dietary Fiber 6.5g

Sugars 1.5

Protein 21.25 (whoa!)

Butternut Squash Baked Mac & (a smidge of) Cheese

I'm really impressed by this recipe, which I just served up for my Sunday dinner.  I adapted it from a health magazine and it was excellent!  It's a delicious baked mac & cheese with the added vitamin/fiber bonus of butternut squash!  Indulgent and creamy, but with NO cream, NO butter, and only a 1/4 cup of cheese for the entire dish! 

Your cheat meal just became healthy!

Best of all, I made it with a butternut squash my parents grew in their garden, that I snuck into my suitcase on the plane home from my parents' house this Christmas!  It gave the dish a gorgeous, deep orange color, making me feel like I was in Cheddar Heaven, but knowing that I was really in Vitamin A Heaven, which is all the more divine :)

Here are the details...


INGREDIENTS:

- 1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled & cubed into smallish pieces (~1/2 inch squares)

- 6 cloves of garlic, minced & separated

- ~10 fresh sage leaves, chopped & separated

- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (I actually used unsweetened almond & coconut milk.  Whatever your milk du jour, make sure its unsweetened because the squash adds plenty of sweetness on its own)

-1 cup reduced sodium chicken stock

-pinches of sea salt, cayenne pepper, and crushed black pepper

- 1/2 pound whole wheat elbow macaroni (~3 cups uncooked)

- cooking spray or olive oil

- 1/4 cup shredded good quality Gruyere cheese

-1/2 cup plain Panko bread crumbs- use the whole wheat variety if you can find it!


DIRECTIONS:

-Preheat oven to 475, spray an 8x8 deep baking dish (like one for brownies) lightly with cooking spray or olive oil.

-Peel and cube the stem part (i.e., the entire squash except the bulbous bottom- save it for something else) of a medium-sized butternut squash.

-Add the squash cubes to a large sauce pan with the chicken stock, almond milk, pinches of cayenne pepper & crushed black pepper, most of the chopped sage leaves (~8 leaves total), and most of the minced garlic (~4 cloves worth).   

-Heat pot over medium heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 10 or 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

-When squash is soft, use a stick blender and puree until pretty smooth.  (Or allow to cool and puree in a blender)

-Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente.  Rinse briefly in cool water and add to prepared pan.   

-Cover the al dente pasta evenly with the squash mixture.  Cover the pan with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

-As it bakes, put the shredded gruyere cheese, panko, 1/8 t sea salt, ~2 more chopped up sage leaves, and ~2 more minced garlic cloves in a bowl and mix together.   

-Spoon the cheese mixture over the pasta & squash and broil on low for about 4 more minutes (watching closely!) until the top is lightly browned. 

BEAUTIFUL!

Makes 4 very generous servings.

I did the math on livestrong.com's MyPlate feature, and came up with these fabulous stats:

 

Calories 261

Total Fat 4.28g

            Saturated Fat 1.3g

Dietary Fiber 5.75g

Sugars 6.5g

Protein 11g

I included a side of wild Atlantic salmon baked with a ginger glaze, just cuz I'm wonderfully indulgent.

Christmas Pea Soup

Christmas, of course, because of the abundant green color of this hearty, fiber-full soup and also because I add roasted red peppers which give the soup nice red flecks.  Its the Christmas wreath of soups!  PLUS peas, like all legumes, are an excellent source of protein, fiber, folate, manganese, etc.

Honestly, this was another one of my dutch oven miracles where I eyeball ingredients and it comes out fabulously!  What luck!

Here are the quantities as far as I can guess- it made an ENTIRE dutch oven full!  I've been eating pea soup for either lunch or dinner everyday for a week and I'm not even sick of it, its so good!

INGREDIENTS:

-2 cups dried split green (or yellow!) peas
-4+ cloves of garlic, minced
-1 small yellow onion, diced
-2/3 cup roasted red pepper strips, chopped

-2T sea salt (more or less to taste)
-1T ground black pepper
-1T curry powder
-Dash of cayenne
-1t garlic powder

-4c or more of chicken stock
-1/4c plain fat free Greek yogurt (more if you want a creamier soup)

DIRECTIONS:

~~Heat large dutch oven over low heat, add 2T olive oil when pot is warm
~~Add minced garlic, sliced onion, and roasted red peppers separately, allowing each to warm and be stirred before moving onto the next
~~Add spices

~~When veggies are warm and translucent (not the peppers, obviously) add 1c stock and deglaze (use a wooden spoon to scrape up the cooked veggie bits off the bottom of the pot

~~Add the peas, followed by the remaining stock and bring to a boil
~~Cover with lid, turn heat to low, and allow to simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes or until peas are tender and have lost their shape

~~If you want, use an immersion blender for only about 30 seconds to further liquify the soup.  Replace lid and allow to simmer on low for another 10-20 minutes 

~~Add more liquid if necessary, turn off heat and stir in Greek yogurt


*I topped mine with a little Parmesan cheese


Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy Eating!

Curry Lentil Butternut Squash Soup

A perfect one-pot fall dinner!

My mom is the master of butternut squash soup.  I tried to be like her and added my own flair while I was at it!

High protein with the lentils, high fiber with the squash, oodles of Vitamin A + friends, a gorgeous color, and a lovely Middle Eastern flavor profile- this is one that I make again and again.  This is a filling vegetarian dish that can also be easily made a *vegan dish if desired.

INGREDIENTS:

·      2 medium sized butternut squash, I got mine at the farmer’s market, which is even better!

·      2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken stock

·      2 cups water

·      1 cup dried lentils

·      4-8 fresh garlic cloves

·      ½ large (or 1 small) red onion

·      ½ t sea salt

·      1 t crushed black pepper (and/or pink pepper if you have it) 

·      1 T curry powder                                                                                  

·      ¼ t cumin                                                                                              

·      ¼ t cayenne powder

·      3T plain fat free Greek yogurt (optional)

·      3T chopped fresh herbs, like parsley or cilantro- I used parsley (optional)

·      ½ ounce plain goat cheese per serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

·      Cut 2 butternut squashes length-wise and bake in the oven at about 350 until very soft inside, probably around 30 minutes or so

·      Allow squash to cool enough so you can hold them without blistering your fingertips off

·      Use a spoon and scoop out the squash flesh into a bowl- this should be fairly easy if its cooked enough

MEANWHILE, as the squash was baking, you should have done this:

·      Heat a generous amount of olive oil in the bottom of a very large, heavy pan like a Dutch oven to MEDIUM heat

·      Chop garlic & onion and add to heated pan- cook until onions are translucent and put heat on LOW

·      Add salt, pepper, and other spices

·      Deglaze the pan with 2 cups of chicken stock (ie, pour in the stock and then use a wooden spoon to scrape the cooked bits off the bottom of the pan

·      Add water and turn heat to HIGH

·      When water is simmering rapidly, add the dried lentils and bring to a boil for several minutes

And now FINALLY…

·      Add the cooked squash

·      Stir well, put a lid on it, and simmer- stir occasionally

·      I simmered & stirred mine for about 30 minutes and –BAM- it was finished.  Lentils should be tender and most of the squash should be broken down

·      If you’re fancy, you can use an immersion blender to slightly puree the soup

·      If you’re kinda fancy, you can use a muddler to break down large squash pieces in the pot

·      If you’re not fancy at all, use a fork to break up larger squash pieces

The soup will be thick, regardless of how you choose to eliminate the squash chunks.  You can thin it out if you want by adding more water or stock.

·      Stir in fresh herbs of your choice at the last minute

·      Stir in Greek yogurt if desired

·      Serve immediately!

I topped mine with goat cheese and gave it a swirl- it was awesome!

When it comes to spices, I say go big or go home.  So feel free to tone down the cayenne, etc. if that’s not your style.

**Can easily be made VEGAN by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and using pureed silken tofu or vegan yogurt instead of Greek yogurt and goat cheese.

Pan-Fried Soft-Shelled Crabs

Cuz I'm fancy like that.

One of the perks of living in the Mid-Atlantic Region is FRESH, WILD-CAUGHT, LOCAL SEAFOOD!  Not farm-raised in Chile, not shipped over from Sweden, not frozen and carted around in cargo planes.  So whenever I'm at the fancy market and see the words LOCAL and WILD in big orange letters, I take my chances.

I asked my local fishmonger (cuz I have one now, and its amazing- he's from Canada & just became a citizen and this is his first US election!) how one might properly prepare a fresh, local, wild soft-shelled crab and he recommended deep frying and adding some fancy soft cheese. 

I said, "Frying..?"  And he sighed and said, "Or I supposed a sauté will work if you want to be healthier or whatever," obviously peeved that I second-guessed him, but still glad that I asked.

So that's what I did!  Sauteed (or basically pan-fried) breaded soft-shelled crab!

It was really so easy and looks UBER impressive, plus no shell-cracking required- you just eat EVERYTHING!  Kinda weird at first, but you'll get over it; promise.

DIRECTIONS:

• Rinse off crabs under cold, running water & pat dry with paper towels
• Soak crabs in buttermilk (or whatever, I even used vanilla almond milk once and it was fine!) for at least 5 minutes
• Dredge through a pan or large plate of whole wheat flour, whole wheat Panko crumbs, sea salt, crushed black pepper, and a generous sprinkling of Old Bay (I'm still a Maryland girl at heart!).
• Shake off excess flour and transfer immediately into a large pan heated to a MEDIUM temperature with enough oil to almost cover the bottom of the pan
• Sprinkle crabs with Parmesan cheese as its closer to being done and allow it to caramelize slightly
• Flip when golden brown
• Allow to drain on paper towels
• Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top
• Serve with goat cheese, homemade tartar sauce, ranch dressing, or whatever you prefer (Mine are shown with roasted beets & rutabagas!)

Seriously VERY impressive!  And delicious!  And fast!

Gluten Free Lemon Coconut Tofu Squares (ie, fancy Lemon Bars)

 I adapted this recipe from the Whole Living issue with my doppelganger on the cover:

My version is gluten free & sugar free PLUS has like triple the amount of lemon-protein goodness on top!  This is less of a traditional lemon bar, and more of a coconut shortbread bar with super lemony custard on top.  WARNING: you may need to eat with a spoon...or just be prepared to get it all over your face & fingers

FOR CRUST:
-1/2 cup coconut oil
-1/4 cup Splenda
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp coarse salt
-1 1/2 cup white rice flour (Bob's Red Mill)

FOR FILLING:
-1/2 cup silken tofu
-1/4 cup Truvia
-3 Tbs grated lemon zest
-1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
-1/4 tsp baking powder
-2 Tbs white rice flour

DIRECTIONS:
-Heat oven to 350

-Brush an 8inch square baking dish with oil or butter, line with parchment so that there is an overhang over the sides of the dish, brush parchment with more oil

-Make crust: stir together oil, sugar, vanilla & salt. Add flour and stir until just combined
-Press dough into prepared dish and bake for 20-30 minutes
-The crust will only lightly brown on the edges

-Meanwhile, make filling: place ALL filling ingredients in a food processor until smooth and there are NO visible tofu bits

-Pour filling onto baked crust and bake until set, 50-70 minutes

(you can see my fingerprints from where I touched it to check its doneness^ oops)

-Let cool completely

-You can of course dust with powdered sugar, but I find it superfluous to top a dessert with even more sugar.  But that’s just me :)

It cooks for A LOT longer than you would expect.  I actually took mine out, tried a piece and ended up putting it back in the over for like 20 MORE minutes.  But then it got this gorgeous yellow color:

The bars have a great tropical flavor thanks to the coconut oil- delish!

Fancy Pinecone Dip!

I hosted a Fall dinner party this week (SO fun; I have the coolest friends!) and the hit of the party was the gorgeous pinecone dip.

Looks impressive, but WAY easier than it seems!

Here's how it turned out:

Here's the how-to:

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whole natural almonds
1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
3 crispy cooked bacon slices (or chopped prosciutto, which is what I used), crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
Fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish

Directions
Mix together the cream cheese and the mayonnaise. Add the bacon, salt and pepper, dill, and onion. Chill overnight.
On a serving platter, make 2 pine cone shapes with the cheese. Begin to press the almonds at a slight angle into the cheese, starting at the narrow end of the pine cone shape.
Add the sprigs & voila!

I served it with crackers and it was a hit.

Personally...I HATE mayo and so honestly, I didn't like it much...but my roomie was CRAZY about it and everyone else seemed to like it too.

(The recipe came from Amy Sedaris on FoodNetwork.com)