{Stuffed Bell Peppers}

I had never had stuffed bell peppers until about three weeks ago, although I had seen recipes for them in numerous recipe books and online recipe websites.  One day, Seth randomly asks me, "Hey, do you think you could make stuffed bell peppers?"  I wondered, had he been reading my mind and the Everyday Paleo recipe book?  Sarah Fragoso had a recipe in there, and I thought it looked quite intriuging and that I should try it sometime.  

I laughed, "Sure!"  Now to get down to making that recipe sooner than I had originally planned! =)

Here are pictures from the first two times I've made this... the recipe is in full at the very end.  Also, I will highlight the differences I made to the original recipe that was in the Everyday Paleo book. =)  

 Celery, Carrots, Onion, Mushrooms, lots of Garlic, diced Tomatoes, hot sauce {Franks is our favorite}, Salt, Pepper, and of course... the whole peppers =)   

The second time I made these, I combined everything together, and dumped it into the cooked meat, to cook the veggies... however, I made it according to the recipe the first time and sooo see picture below =)

Original steps in the recipe are to saute the carrots, onion, garlic, and celery.  Once they've soften a bit, add the other veggies and meats.  What I had to add:  zucchini, mushrooms, and fresh diced tomatoes!  

Veggies mixed in with the (cooked) sausage and hamburger meat. \

I just love how the steam is rising around the bell pepper boast! =)

After the picture I did submerge them and cooked them for between 5-8/10 minutes, depending upon how soft you desire them.  

Note: the longer they cook in the boiling water, the easier they may break when filling them... so just be cautious! =)  

FILL 'er UP!!!  

Lids on, a dash of water in the bottom of your baking pan, and then into the oven for 20 minutes! =)

And.... ta'da!  

Delicious, amazing Stuffed Bell Peppers

 Curious what they look on the inside?!  Here's a half-way cross cut =)  

 I never thought stuffed bell peppers would become one of my favorites... but they really are delicious, and these, without rice or other grains, are scrumptiously healthy for you!  =)

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Prep time: 30 minutes+

Cook time:  40 minutes total

Serves: 5-6

4 Tbs extra-virgin Olive Oil
1 yellow Onion ( or white or whatever you have =) finely chopped
3 Celery stalks, finely chopped
2-3 Carrots, finely diced
1.5 lbs Italian Pork Sausage, Cooked
1 lb. ground Beef, Cooked
1 Tbs dried Oregano
1 Tb Garlic Powder
Sea salt, and Black Pepper to taste
1 Tb Hot Sauce, optional
1 yellow Crookneck Squash, or 1-3 sm Zucchini, chopped
3 cups fresh Basil, chopped, or use dried basil, 1-2 Tbs.
1 (14.5oz) can Diced Tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes, chopped
5-6 Bell Peppers

1.  Preheat oven to 350*.  Fill a large soup pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Cook the Italian sausage and ground beef in separate pans. Set aside.
3.  Pour the olive oil in a large saute pan or soup pot, and over medium heat saute the onion, celery, and carrots until the onions become transparent.
4.  Crumble in the {cooked} sausage and ground beef and add the dried seasonings and the hot sauce.
Optional steps 2-4:  Saute the onion,  celery, and carrots with olive oil in a large saute pan or soup pot.  Crumble in the sausage and ground beef (uncooked) and add the dried seasonings, hot sauce, and do step 5, then cook 'til meat is thoroughly cooked and the zucchini is soft/starting to look transparent.
5.  Add the yellow crookneck squash or zucchini, basil, and tomatoes.  Mix well and let the veggies and meat cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for another 10-15 minutes, or 'til the zucchini is softened.
6.  In the meantime, remove just the tops of the bell peppers, cut out/rinse out the seeds...
7.  Place the  bell peppers gently into the boiling water and submerge boiling for 5-8 minutes, until peppers are soft but not falling apart.
8.  Pull the bell peppers out with tongs, and arrange in a glass baking dish {dash of water in the bottom}.  Stuff each bell pepper with the meat mixture, {while stuffing, boil the tops of the bell peppers for "lids"}, top with the pepper "lids", and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Note:  I like adding fresh minced garlic, and diced fresh mushrooms as we love the baby bella mushrooms from Costco.  Also, if you're not going strictly paleo, add a {smidgin} of grated cheese and melt at the very end of baking time =)  Another thing, this truly makes at least 6 servings!  Perhaps even more, as I've tried to cut the recipe in half both times and it made way more than 3 stuffed bell peppers!  My guess is that it fills more like 7-8 =)

~enjoy~

{February 28th Update on the Paleo Plan}

Hello welcome!  I hope you're able to pour a cup of coffee or hot tea {Earl Grey is one of my favorites =)} ...or as my dear friend, Jill, would rather have, maybe a tall glass full of foaming chocolate milk!  Whatever you decide, come sit down, and journey with me through my kitchen, the recipe box, and laugh {and sometimes cry!} as I share the adventures of a wife and mommy in her kitchen!  ;)  

When I first got everything started for this new blog I wrote the first post and we had not started a simple-carb/gluten-free diet... but now, I'm happy to tell you, that we ARE actually doing the Paleo stuff!  =)  Yay! Well... mostly! =)  Another day for that blog post....

Confessions:

WOW!  I haven't craved sugar/chocolate/sweets so bad for so long!!!  =(  I was going crazy those first four weeks!  And admittedly made quite a few of gluten-free treats!  (meaning, substituted gluten free flour in the classic chocolate chip cookies, my favorite muffins, etc.recipes so they mostly still had dairy and regular sugar/some organic sugar =)  Yeah, it was bad.  But it was fun experimenting with the gluten-free flours! And, I think I can say that those first-month cravings are subsiding! {But maybe that's due to being pregnant, and so far, I don't crave much sugar/sweets while pregnant!} 

Bonuses:  

We are loving some of the paleo recipes I've discovered!  They're really good and I feel so much better knowing that they aren't full of simple carbs!  

I'm also learning to cook a lot of vegetables that I've either never had before (brussels sprouts, eggplant, leeks anyone?!), but actually {liking} most of them! =)  

A friend of Seth's has graciously let me long-term borrow a book called "Everyday Paleo" by Sarah Fragoso {ya' can check it out here}, and it is from this book that most of the recipes I've been making are coming from.  This book is very unique in that she not only tells her life story and why she and her family are now Paleo lifestylists but she also thoroughly explains what Paleo is and isn't.  AND... she's included 100 plus recipes, a month long meal plan for a family of 5, and tips of what to have in the pantry, fridge, and freezer!  

At first the whole book seemed a little overwhelming until I got to the last few pages where she has her monthly meal plan with weekly grocery lists and recipes for each meal!  Whew... this looks so much more do-able! =)  

I haven't followed it perfectly.  Partly because there a few things on there that we just can't afford (lamb, wild Alaskan salmon , etc.) or that I'm too scared to buy the veggies for (beets, turnips, etc. yuck! lol), and also because I've been participating in a food co-op that is local to the Western states called Bountiful Baskets.  So I have been incorporating these fruits and vegetables into the meals and recipes (never know for sure what's in the baskets 'til we pick up on Saturday! =) instead of buying just what Sarah recommends.  

That being said, concerning some of the expensive meats and disliked vegetables, we have really liked the recipes and book.  It's even on a wish list, because I'm afraid that our friend is going to want it back at any time! Lol =)  

If you are nervous about giving up simple carbs, breads, pastas, etc. then fear not!  There are a lot of great ideas and recipes out there that are really delicious (the whole family will love most of these!).... so take a sip of that coffee, relax... and find a new recipe for dinner or breakfast! =)

Welcome to my food blog!  =) 

Actually I wanted to chronicle our journey with foods, eating, lifestyles, etc.  and thus this new blog was begun!  =) 

A little about my family:   I love cooking and baking; have since about the time my memory starts!  ;)  I am the oldest of a larger family, (6 kids)... so I've cooked and cleaned house a lot! lol  =)  
My husband and I were married 4 years ago in January, we have two little people, our almost 3 year old daughter Miss Monkey and 6 month old son, Mister J Man!  My husband is a full time college student in his last year of pre-med, and I’m a stay at home wife.  We know full well what it is like to live on the meager finances and budget of a college student.  My husband also works hard supplementing his school grants, scholarships, and loans with part time work as an EMT, firefighter, a TA in several labs/classes on campus, and with good full time summer jobs.  Why do explain all this to you?!  Well, because even with all that it is often very, very difficult to make ends meet every semester and that is trying to live quite frugally.  I want to share with you the little tips and secrets I am slowly learning, in the kitchen and around the house! =)  
Also so that you better understand why and perhaps even sympathize when I explain that to stretch veggies and meats I often made casseroles, pasta, rice dishes etc.  these past four years of being college student family.  Hey, grains and breads really help stretch the budget and the meal plans!  =)  However, we found that neither of us keep off weight with all the grains and gluten-full products we’ve been eating the past 3 plus years!  ={  We also see the natural benefits of not eating as much grains, sugars, gluten, and more vegetables, fruits, and meat.  Thus a change in our diet (meaning eating lifestyle).  It’s really the beginning of the journey as we are just now getting lists and charts, recipes and ideas, budget plan etc.  started.  We’d like to try  eating Paleo for a while, although not completely eliminating all grains or dairy.  Paleo essentially is going back' to ancestors eating lifestyles where only meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and' a very few other misc foods are eaten.  No dairy.  No legumes.  No grains.  No sugars.  No simple carbs.  At all.  Our plan however, is to keep good, healthy grains such as brown rice, quinoa, gluten free pasta once in a while, nut and coconut flours, corn, and some milk in our diet.  Also, even though now we don’t have much dairy, we are going to cut back but not eliminate cheese and milk.  Instead of milk in tea or coffee, coconut milk or half-and-half.  And cheese only a few times a week and in half the quantity!  =)  So… as you can see, it WILL be a change for us, since we’re cutting some intakes of things in half or going gluten free (as much as possible), using healthier sugar choices, and not having the normal breads, tortillas, pastas, rice etc.  =)  ALSO… hopefully I’ll be learning how to use and cook a bigger variety of veggies and fruits!  Perhaps this will end up being a cultural cuisine journey too! =) 

I do love to cook and bake.  It’s been a deep, vibrant love for just about as long as I can remember!  And honestly, if we took out ALL grains and sugars and cheeses, I think I may go crazy!  =D  The kitchen has always felt like my safe domain, I know how to run it, cook up yummy, fairly nutritious dinners, and bake up a storm of deliciousness…. And suddenly it’s all going topsy-turvy and the panic I feel is overwhelming!  “What?!  How can we have Mexican with no cheese?  And lasagna with no noodles or cheese?!  You’ve got to be kidding me!  No rice with oriental food?!  Absolutely not!  Waaaaait!  You’re taking all baking from me???  No sugar?! No chocolate?!   What am I going to do???!”  =) 

So I’ve decided that if I chronicle our findings, the new recipes, post pictures, and let ya’ in the secrets we learn along the way…. Then… just maybe I’ll be able to cope with the changes, and  be more excited about this new hopefully-lifestyle!  And soooo begins a new blog just for food, budgets, kitchen tips, homemaking, and all that fun stuff!  =) 

From the Kitchen of an Apron Lovin’ Mommy