Classic Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

½ cup uncooked rice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
¾ medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ pound lean ground beef
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 bell peppers, tops and cores removed
¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack (substitute a goat cheese for the dairy intolerant)
Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

 

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the oven. Preheat it to 400 degrees.

Step 2: Cook the rice in a small saucepan according to package instructions.

Step 3: Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, saute the onion for about 5 minutes until tender. Add in the tomato paste and garlic. Stir and continue to cook for another minute until aromatic. Add in the ground beef, breaking up the meat using a wooden spoon, and continue to cook for 6 minutes more until no longer pink.

Step 4: Stir in the cooked rice and the diced tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano, then simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid slightly reduced.

Step 5: In a 9 x 9 inch baking dish, put the peppers on the bottom cut side-up. Drizzle with oil and spoon the mixture to the peppers, incorporating up to half the Monterey Jack cheese. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese neatly over the tops.

Step 6: Use foil to cover the dish and place it inside the preheated oven. Bake for about 35 minutes until the peppers are soft. Remove the cover and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Step 7: Remove from the oven and garnish. Serve warm.

TJ's Mediterranean Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS: 

-full bag of fusilli noodles (black bean noodles or lentil noodles work great, and make this dish gluten free!) 

Handful each of

-kalamata olives

-roasted marinated red peppers

-artichoke hearts

-frozen corn, A half a bag

-chicken, 6 tenders or thighs. Or 3 chicken breasts. 

-8 cherry tomatoes

-1/4 red onion

-5 radishes

-1 clove elephant garlic, or a few cloves regular garlic

To taste 

-goat cheese

-Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS 

In a skillet, cook off finely diced garlic with butter, till translucent.

Add seasoned chicken (I liked garlic salt and pepper) when half cooked, start shredding it with two forks. (If it starts out frozen, cook in fryer till fully defrosted, finish cooking in pan and shred)

Place chicken and garlic in a separate bowl with frozen corn, and let residual heat thaw corn.

Cut cherry tomatoes to preferred size and blister in pan till umami flavour is strong. Roughly chop remaining veggies, fresh and marinated.

Do not waste any oil from the marinated veggies, as this will be our sauce. 

Mix everything thoroughly into a large bowl sprinkling in the cheeses to preference. Season with salt and pepper to taste, mushroom salt pairs nicely.  

Balance is important. Especially with the marinated veggies as the oil is important and also filled with flavour.

Sue’s Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound uncooked red or purple potatoes, diced large (golf ball size)
3 cups uncooked leeks, chopped
3 cups kale, chopped
1 bratwurst or sausage per person (optional)
1 TBSP canola oil
3 cups low-fat milk (1%? 2%?)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Pepper to taste.


Instructions:

• Cut potatoes into golf-ball size pieces. Spread on microwavable plate, cover & cook on high until tender, about 6 minutes.

• In stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. When it’s warm, add chopped leeks, chopped kale & salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. 
 
• Dice the sausage (if you're using them) and fry over medium heat.

• Add cooked potatoes, milk & nutmeg to stockpot and reduce heat to medium low. Mash potatoes into small chunks. Simmer until flavors blend, about 5 minutes.

• Serve in wide bowls, perhaps with crackers or toast. Garnish with pepper, finely chopped green peppers.

• Enjoy. 
 
COMMENT: Also works with rice milk instead of dairy milk; makes it vegetarian.

Vegetarian; no sausage.

Not vegetarian; with sausage.

 

Sourdough Light Rye

Ingredients: 

2 Cups sourdough (Give or take) 

2 Cups bread flour

1 tsp salt 

1 1/2 TBSP gluten flour 

2 TBSP milk powder 

2 TBSP butter

Warm water, as needed (1/4 cup, Give or take) 

Directions: 

Load it all, water first, into the mixing bowl.

Mix it well. You want a firm dough, not a sloppy dough.

Let it raise in a warm place. Double.

Cut in half. Shape into small loaves.

Cut shallow slices in the top.

Raise again, briefly. 

Bake at 350 until it's done. Until it's brown. (20 minutes?) 

Results:

Mom's Homemade Granola

Mix together: 
6 cups Old Fashioned Oats
½ cup Brown Sugar  (crumble it into the bowl)
¾ cup Wheat Germ
¼ cup Seeds (Sesame? Flax?)
½ cup Nuts (Peanuts? Cashews?)


Blend and warm together:
½ cup Canola Oil
⅜ cup Honey (Note: three EIGHTHS!)
1 TBSP Vanilla (Bourbon Vanilla Extract?)


• Preheat oven to 300° F

• Heat the oil & honey together with the vanilla: about a minute in the microwave. 

• Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix them well. Pour the whole mixture into a baking pan. Whatever size fits, steel, glass, cast iron, whatever.

• Turn every 10 or 12 minutes.

• Bake until it’s golden brown and the house smells wonderful. Should be about an hour. 

Comment: doubling the honey makes a very sweet sticky mess. You can cut it into bars while it's cooling, but it's nearly impossible to get out of the pan! There has to be a better (and more intentional) way of making granola bars!

Hitachi Breadmaker White Bran Bread

Ingredients:

3½ cups bread flour
½ cup oat bran
1½ tsp dry yeast
1 TBSP gluten (“gluten flour”)
2 TBSP sugar
1½ TBSP butter or cooking oil
1½ TBSP dried milk powder
1 tsp salt
1⅛ cups lukewarm filtered water

Instructions:

• Measure the warm water and add yeast to it while you’re measuring out the other ingredients.
• Measure other ingredients. Load into bread machine.
• Yeast should be active by now. If not, give it 10 minutes or so.
• Add yeast / water to the machine.
• Press “GO”
• When it’s done, remove the bread, slice, maybe add butter, and enjoy.

Starting point: 

TJ's Curried ButterNut Soup

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash.
1 1/2 heads of garlic, smashed.
2 Shallots, finely diced.
3 TBSP Red curry paste.
2 cans coconut (cream, milk or combination).
4 cups strong veggie broth.
Some (4 or 5?) chicken thighs, sliced thinly against the grain.
A bunch of broccoli. Be generous.
Some yellow/Dutch potatoes.
A bunch of crushed/chopped peanuts.

Instructions: Cook this is a stockpot. Cast iron is a good idea.
• Peel squash. Quarter it. Remove seeds & goop.
• Rub squash with high-temperature oil.
• Roast squash: 45 minutes at 425. Turn halfway through.
• Cook curry paste for two minutes.
• Add shallots and garlic. Cook 'till translucent.
• Dice the cooked squash. Add to curry, onions, garlic. Re-heat.
• When it's hot, add broth & coconut. Re-heat again. Blend 'till very smooth with immersion blender.
• While it’s simmering, cook chicken, broccoli & potatoes separately (Reminder: they take different times). Season liberally with salt & pepper.
• Combine solids with blended liquids just before serving. Dust with peanuts.
• Serve and enjoy!

Comment: This is delicious!