Stuffed Peppers

It is GORGEOUS outside here in Texas and makes me think that pesky groundhog was wrong about six more weeks of winter. With excitement for spring but the threat of more snowy and cold days ahead I wanted to post a recipe that kind of covers both.

These stuffed peppers are a recipe that I have adapted from Kayln's Kitchen. It's really wintery comfort food that is still on the lighter side. They have proved to be a very popular and easy weeknight meal over at my house. My dad has requested them multiple times. If you know my dad that truly speaks to their quality. He will eat everything but never seems to really "like" anything!

So one of the best things about this recipe is it's flexibility. You can really customize it to meet your family's tastes. You could substitute italian sausage for turkey sausage, ground beef with taco seasoning, or even just chicken you pull off a rotissiere chicken. Don't like corn? No problem just switch out the vegetables however you like! Experimenting with the flavors is half of the fun.

I've also been testing out different flavored olive oils. And it's amazing how it can impact the flavor of your dish. So far my favorites have come from O Olive Oil in California. They have been on my favorite "bargain" shopping website Ruelala a bunch, so I have been able to try quite a few of the flavors for a heavily reduced price. My personal favorites are the Jalapeno Lime and the Fresh Basil (I use this when making my Pasta Sauce recipe!. But there are several to choose from.

Another way to mess with this recipe is the type of rice you use. I use pearled cous cous, Kalyn's Kitchen uses brown rice, but you could really use any. I bet Zattarain's boxed Spanish Rice would taste pretty good as well.

If you mix up the recipe let me know some of the variations you try! I'd love to have a running list of great variations so that I can mix it up. If certain flavors work well for you feel free to post them in the comment section so everyone can benefit!

Stuffed Peppers

                   Ingredients

                  1 Box of Pearled Cous Cous

            4 Large Bell Peppers, any color

            1 Large Onion, Diced

            Olive Oil

            1 Lb. Spicy Italian Sausage

            Oregano

            1/2 Bag of Frozen Corn

            3 Green Onions, diced

            Parmesan Cheese

            Salt and pepper to taste 

            Panko Bread Crumbs

            2 tbsp. Butter

            Cabbage

Step 1: Chop the tops off of the peppers and pull out the seed balls. You can use a knife to carefully shave the bottom of the peppers so they will stand up. Cut is much as you can off of the discarded pepper tops and chop it up to use in your stuffing mixture.

Step 2: Cook to CousCous according to the packages instructions.

Step 3: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While your Cous Cous is cooking. Dice the onion. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan with high sides. (don't have one? a sauce pan works ok too!). Add the onion, green onion, diced peppers, corn, and oregano  to taste until soft and fragrant. 

Step 4: Remove the vegetable mixture and pour into a bowl and set aside. Using the same pan heat a tad more olive oil and cook the sausage until browned. Then add the vegetable mixture back into the pan and sautee for about 3-5 minutes to blend the flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Step 5: Mix in about 1/3 C. of parmesan into the mixture until melted.

Step 6: Line your pan with a very thin layer of olive oil. Stuff each pepper with the mixture and set into your pan. Mix 1/2 C. of parmesan and 1/2 C. of Panko bread crumbs together in a small bowl. Pour on top of your peppers. (and by pour i mean use your hands to create a thin layer of it over the peppers). Bake the peppers for about 20 minutes or until the pepper is soft and the tops are turning brown and crispy.

Step 7: If you have extra stuffing you can cook it in it's own dish with panko and parmesan on top. I love eating it for breakfast!

Step 8: While your peppers are cooking. Use the same pan to melt 2 Tbsp. of butter. Saute the cabbage until soft and slightly wilted. Season with Salt and Pepper.

Step 9: When everything is done make a bed of cabbage on your plates and lay the pepper on top and enjoy!

It may seem like there are a lot of steps, but there really isn't and it's fairly easy. If you do the chopping up front it will save you a lot of time as you work through the recipe. I hope you enjoy it, it's one of my new favorite recipes!

Happy Eating!

Tanner

Strawberry French Macaroons

F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. I have semi-succeeded in making a macaroon. *Applause please!*

Seriously, if baking was in the Olympics then French Macaroons would be the equivalent of surviving the moguls or landing a quad in figure skating. It has taken me several attempts to finally get the fluffiness of the cookie, and this particular batch would have received some minor deductions, but they look pretty and they taste GREAT so definitely a gold medal recipe. (Like the theme I'm going with here?)

I was first introduced to macaroons on a trip to Montreal (a former Olympic site I might add) I took in college. I was in heaven. The store we went too had such a variety of flavors, and even though they were a littttttttle pricey we bought a whole box. Suffice it to say those lasted about a second, so of course we had to go back later in our trip. 

I had no idea what these little cookie balls were. I grew up loving what I thought were the "real macaroons" those toasted coconut cookies that are so delightful. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that their French cousins are far superior. French macaroons aren't exactly what you first anticipate them to be. It looks like a cookie sandwich, but when you pick it up its as light as a feather! Then you bite into the cookie and it just dissolves in your mouth. They are light and airy and not to mention beautiful to look at!

From a cooking perspective what's really fun about these cookies is how many flavors you can create. There are lots of cupcake flavors and such but you are still kind of limited. With these there are no limits. There are so many flavors that you can turn them into, and a lot of that rests in the cream or jelly you put in the center. I had one in New York this winter that was called the Elvis and was a peanut butter and banana macaroon...scoff all you want it was DELICIOUS. For this recipe I stuck with a basic flavor and a basic jelly because I was so determined to just get the cookie right! 

The first few times I tried to make them were unsuccessful. I don't know if it was the weather, my impatience, or just inexperience. I have heard though, that much like gingerbread, a rainy day can ruin your batch. This recipe came from Ricardo Cooking and what I really love about is that it used actual almonds instead of almond flour. I'm not sure if it made the difference in the cookies working, but I'm going to assume it was the savior ingredient. 

If you try this recipe and it doesn't work the first time. Don't be afraid to give it another go! They make wonderful Valentine's day treats too!

Strawberry French Macaroons

   Ingredients 

1 1/2 C. ground almonds

1 C. powdered sugar

3 egg whites

Red food coloring

1/2 C. Sugar

2 C. Strawberries, chopped

1 C. sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Special utensils: candy thermometer, pastry bag

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Step 2: Use a food processor to grind the almonds and powdered sugar into a VERY VERY fine powder. (This is essential otherwise your batter will be a tiny bit clumpy). 

Step 3: Use your hand mixer to beat the egg whites and food coloring until soft peaks form. Click here (not up yet) for a primer on beating egg whites. Add the sugar just a little bit at a time and continue beating until you are seeing stiff peaks form. 

Step 4: Use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently combine the dry mixture with the egg whites.

Step 5: Use a pastry bag (DO NOT TRY THIS ANY OTHER WAY it never works, at least it didn't for me). Fit the pastry bag with any normal tip. You just want a plain circle that has a decent size opening. Then squeeze out 1 inch circles on your baking sheets. They shouldn't expand too much, but be sure to leave plenty of room between the cookies. Shake the tray or gently bang it on the counter to flatten your cookie.

Step 6: Bake one sheet at a time leaving your oven door open slightly. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Smaller cookies will bake faster so keep an eye on them!

Step 7: While those bake. Combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir frequently.

Step 8: Once its at a boil place a candy thermometer in the center until it reaches 219 degrees. This is really important or it won't set right. Then let cool completely. 

Step 9: Spread some jelly on one cookie and then sandwich them together. And enjoy!

You could also use jelly from a jar if you prefer or don't want to make your own jelly. Just buy one that isn't too runny. 

This is a really tricky dessert to make even though it doesn't seem like it. So cut yourself some slack and keep trying if it doesn't go great the first time. Feel free to message me with any pointers or questions you might have!

I hope you love it! Happy Eating

Tanner

Cinnamon Sugar Bread

I'm not sure if I have talked about my obsession with bread. I haven't had the opportunity to cook a lot lately because I've been so busy, which is a HUGE BUMMER! That being said I am constantly looking for bread recipes.

I will be the first to say that I love Mrs. Bairds and Sara Lee, but there is something about cooking bread from scratch. The satisfaction that you made that, even after all the frustrating kneading or dough not rising right. And most importantly the smells! I remember my mom making them in her bread machine when I was little. It was always a real treat to get the homemade bread the really really good stuff. 

Unfortunately we no longer have a bread machine so I have had to find other, at times more difficult, ways to make breads. Over the next weeks as I post these bread recipes I will do my best to simplify and to let you know which ones are best when starting out. 

Bread is challenging especially if you've never seen it done before. You don't know what to expect, you don't know if the dough has risen enough..all are valid fears but you don't have to be so critical. It works a lot easier than you think! So...

 DON'T FEAR THE BREAD! BE THE BREAD!

This particular recipe I found on Averie Cooks. I really, really like it. And it wasn't too difficult...mostly because it doesn't use yeast. (so not a true bread) but that's ok. What matters is that it is scrumdiddilyumptious and you are going to LOVE it.

         Cinnamon Sugar Bread

                         1/3 C. Granulated Sugar

                         1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

                         1/4 C. Unsalted Butter, melted

                         1 Large Egg

                         1 C. Light Brown Sugar, packed

                         1/4 C. Vegetable Oil

                         1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract

                         1 C. Buttermilk

                         2 C. All-purpose Flour

                         1 tsp. Ground Nutmeg

                         3/4 tsp. Baking Soda

                         pinch of salt

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350. Melt a tablespoon or two of butter and use a paper towel to rub the sides of the pan and coat lightly with flour. 

Step 2: Mix the Sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. You'll use this later.

Step 3: Melt 1/4 c. of butter in the microwave and cool slightly. In a large bowl combine the butter, egg, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla. Then whisk in the buttermilk.

Step 4: Add the flour, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Stop stirring once everything is combined. (the batter may not be smooth and that's ok). 

Step 5: Pour half of the batter into prepared pan(s). Gently pound the tray on the counter to smooth the batter. Pour some of the cinnamon sugar over over this to create a cinnamon ribbon in the bread. Then pour the remaining batter on top. Again gently pound the tray on the counter to smooth.

Step 6: Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top! It will help the crust become crunchy. Stick it in the oven and bake! Averie Cooks recommends 45-55 minutes, I started checking on mine at 35 minutes and when it was no longer jiggly in the center stuck a tooth pick in. If it comes out clean you're done!

It's really really really good! I hope you enjoy eating it and that it's not too hard for you to make. If you like the recipe I hope you keep reading my blog for more, but also be sure to check out Averie Cooks to see more of her great recipes.

check back this weekend for some yummy Valentine's treats!

Happy Eating,

Tanner

Chicken Poblano Risotto

Being from Texas I love all things spicy. Really the spicier the better. I even ate a habanero pepper just to get a free drink at Freebirds. It wasn't so bad but I'm pretty sure I drank two large big reds before i could even touch my food ;). But despite my love of spice not everyone agrees, which can make cooking certain dishes tricky.

It can be hard to find a way to find the spice you are looking for especially when cooking for a group of people or a significant other who may not like as much spice. This recipe is a good compromise. It packs a little bit of a punch, but it's relatively mild and you aren't trying to gulp down your beverage to compensate. (P.S. rumor has it that milk is the way to soothe those burning mouths).

From a practical cooking standpoint I won't lie to you, risotto, while easy to make, can take some time because it has to absorb all of the fluids you add to it. Still, it's a pretty easy weeknight meal and it tastes great leftover, so make a big batch!  Just remember to be patient, it won't absorb it all at once.

Today's recipe is one I found from Chika, a fellow blogspot user at For the Love of Dessert, and I'm obsessed with it! She was seriously a genius for coming up with this recipe.

When using other people's recipes I generally try to add a little bit of my own flair. So in this case I changed the chicken up just a tad. She used some frozen chicken fingers. I personally prefer to cook my own chicken, so I have adapted the recipe for you to cook chicken with some cayenne pepper to give it a little extra something something. But head on over to her site if you want to see how she incorporated her chicken.

One last side note before I get to the recipe. THIS IS A REALLY GREAT MAN RECIPE. There is zero reason boys would not eat this. Do they think risotto is too fancy? Just call risotto rice and they'll never know the difference...If you're having people over to eat for the Superbowl this is really great alternative to finger foods and chili. (Not to say those aren't fantastic options as well)(p.s. Go Seahawks! just this once).

Chicken Poblano Risotto

(Serves 4 and takes about an hour to make) 

1 lb. Raw chicken tenders

Olive oil

Cayenne Pepper

Salt & Pepper

4 C. of chicken broth

Crushed red pepper flakes

1 large poblano pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp. chili powder

3 green onions, diced

 1 1/2 C. Arborio Rice

1/2 C. pinot grigio**

1 C. Parmesan shredded

**I like the middle sister brand to cook with!

 Step 1: Chop the chicken tenders into bite size squares. Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and the cayenne pepper. (be generous with the cayenne). Heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in a high sided skillet on medium high heat. Then add the chicken. Cook until all sides of the chicken turn white. Cut into one to make sure the inside is not pink.

Step 2: Remove the chicken and place on a plate for later. In the same pan Heat some more olive oil and add red pepper flakes and poblano pepper. (About 1 tsp. of the red pepper flakes). Cook until the pepper is soft and fragrant.

  

Step 3: Boil the chicken broth in a small sauce pan. Once it begins to boil turn the heat down to a simmer.

Step 4: Pour the poblano peppers onto the chicken. continuing to use the same pan heat a little bit more olive oil, the green onions, 2 tsp. red pepper flakes and the chili powder. Cook until fragrant and the green onion is soft. 

Step 5: Add the rice and coat in the olive oil mixture. Then add the white wine, and stir until all of the wine has been absorbed into the rice. 

 

Step 6: Begin adding the chicken broth a little at a time. Stir continuously after each addition. Once all of the chicken broth has been absorbed add some more. Repeat until all of the broth is absorbed by the rice.

Step 7: Add the Parmesan cheese, and then add the chicken and poblano pepper back into the rice mixture. Then enjoy! You can garnish with more red pepper flakes if desired.

I paired this with a salad and one of the Shiner cheer beers I've stocked up on ;) It's amazing and I hope you like it!

Happy Eating!!!

Tanner

 

Homemade Pasta Sauce

For those of you who don't know...I've really been trying to embrace my Italian heritage and by embrace I really mean just talking about it a lot ;). But truly, my grandmother's family came to the US from Sicily and Naples and I have been dying to learn more about our family recipes and traditions. Problem is nobody ever wrote anything down! So I have been testing recipes from all over the place to find ones that I can adapt and hopefully turn into my own family recipes. If any of you would like to send me some of your family recipes I would absolutely LOVE that.

In my quest for great Italian recipes I came across the Tucci Cookbook written by Stanley Tucci.I've linked you to Amazon so you can buy it IMMEDIATELY. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite cookbooks, and I've loved every single recipe I've tried so far (be sure to try his meatball recipe with the sauce!). Not to mention I think he is incredible and I love him. The sauce I am including today is a modified version of his Sailor's Sauce. Nothing against the original recipe I just made some small changes to get the taste I was looking for. I still recommend buying the book. you won't be disappointed.

When making pasta, for me, the sauce makes the meal. It doesn't bother me if the noodles are too hard or too soft, but if I don't like the sauce then forget about it. I won't eat it (well...i probably still would it's hard for me to say no to food). Before my cooking days, back when I didn't understand the value of freshness, I was a lover of Prego pasta sauce...how foolish. I'm so sorry Prego, while your sauce in a jar is easy...you just pop the top and pour it in...it's also LAME and not as tasty not to mention horribly unhealthy. Making your own sauce is EASY. I feel like I say this every post, but I really do try to post recipes that are user friendly (most of the time at least).

You can't even try to tell me you can't do this recipe or it's too hard because even my college age brother accomplished this recipe for a class project.

FRESH. IS. BEST.

The second best part about making homemade pasta sauce from scratch is that you can make multiple batches at a time and freeze them or give them as a hostess gift or just eat pasta every day for a week! Anyway you look at it trying this recipe is a win win and you should go to the store after school or after work and pick up the few ingredients you need and get to cooking! 

TB's Homemade Pasta Sauce

Adapted from Stanley Tucci's Sailor Sauce

1/2 C. olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, crushed*

1/2 of an onion chopped

8 C. Cento Brand whole plum tomatoes (or San Marzano tomatoes)**

2 tsp. of fresh oregano 

1 package of fresh basil leaves, chopped or whole (i like chopped better)

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

*send the garlic through a garlic press or chop it, but then use the back of the knife to crush the garlic

**I rarely find these with the other tomatoes they are usually in a different location or just further down the aisle. They come in a yellow can.

Step 1: Find a pan large enough to hold the sauce. You really want a frying pan with tall sides, but you could use a pot if you want. Heat the olive oil over a medium high heat.

Step 2: Add the onions and olive oil to the pan and cook until fragrant and the onions have begun to soften (they will continue to soften as you cook the sauce). 

Step 3: Add the tomatoes (DO NOT DRAIN THEM!). You'll need to crush them. I recommend using your hands, but beware if you squeeze red sauce will get on your clothes. You can also use a potato masher to break them up.

Step 4: Stir in the remaining ingredients. For the basil use as much or as little as you want, but I'd use at least 5 leaves, but it won't hurt your sauce if you add some more. For the salt and pepper..THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART!...this will make or break your sauce. Too little the sauce can be bland too much and you feel like you cooked with salt water. Add some let the sauce simmer taste and add some more. Continue this until you've reached the taste you want. 

Step 5: Let the pasta simmer until it reaches your desired consistency. It should thicken as you go. I personally just let it sit on the stove until I'm done making the rest of dinner, but you should start checking on it after about 20 minutes.

As always if you have any questions about the recipe feel free to ask! I hope you like it. You can thank Mr. Tucci for the base recipe by buying his cookbook :) 

Happy Eating! Xoxo Tanner