Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Let me start out by saying: I am the only one in this family who adores green peppers. 

If your family adores green peppers, and you make stuffed pepper recipes, then this is an amazing version that you should try.

I made this recipe one night and while the two older boys ate it nicely (but not with stars in their eyes, by any means), the youngest refused entirely (I scooped the rice out of his for him and ate his green pepper shell, gladly). My poor husband suffered it down, because he never complains about the food I make, but I could tell he was really struggling. Like I'm-gonna-hurl struggling. His aversion to green peppers is strong and irreversible, it seems (he likes other colors of peppers, and he is okay with green peppers cooked into things like chili or on top of pizza. But a big whole hunk of green pepper on his plate--he just can't do it. Yet he did. He loves me).

But hey, I LOVE GREEN PEPPERS, and you know what, this recipe is for ME! I love, love, love it. It made way too much stuffing, which was great, because the rice itself is amazing. For lunch the next two days, I took the stuffing and sliced up a raw green pepper on top of it, added some cheese, and nuked the whole mess for a couple minutes. YUM. The rice is also super delicious without using any peppers at all, just as a pilaf. I will be making this recipe for myself, even if not for the hubby. He is not picky about almost anything I make, and is always very gracious about my cooking hobby, so I'll let the stuffed green pepper thing go for family suppers. You can bet though, that the next time I get a nice bunch of green peppers, I will be making this for a good week's worth of lunch for myself!

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

4-6 medium peppers
2 T. olive oil
1 c. brown rice (I used 3/4 c. brown rice, 1/4 c. barley)
2 c. vegetable broth
1 small red onion
1 clove garlic
7 oz canned chopped tomatoes
pinch each of dried thyme, parsley and rosemary
1/2 c. peas (can thaw from frozen)
salt and pepper

1. First cook the rice in the vegetable broth and 1/2 c. of water. Either cook in a pot using instructions on rice package or use a rice cooker. Assemble your ingredients while the rice cooks. Read a book while waiting. :)

2. Turn oven on to 400 degrees F. Wash and dry peppers, put them on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil (I misted them with olive oil using a mister, click here to see). Bake peppers for 12 minutes.

3. Let peppers cool on the pan enough so that you can slice them in half, remove stems and seeds. Lay them, open side up, on the baking sheet.

4. Peel and dice the onion. Pour 1 T. olive oil in pan, bring it to medium heat, and throw the diced onions in. After 3 or 4 minutes, mince the garlic and add it to the onion. Cook for another minute, then add the tomatoes, herbs and a little salt and pepper. Let the mixture bubble and simmer on med/low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the rice and peas to this mixture, then spoon in the halves of pepper.

5. Put the stuffed peppers into the preheated oven for 10 minutes. For extra flavor, sprinkle shredded cheese of your choice on top after the 10 minutes, switch the oven to broil, and broil for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is beautiful and bubbly.

Very Vanilla Vegan Pancakes

This is a nice, simple recipe using ingredients I usually have hanging around. Well, expect the vanilla soymilk--I only buy that occasionally for a treat. I just use regular milk in this (which promptly ends the recipe's status as 'vegan'). My other changes are in red. Wonderful recipe for pancakes with the kids! Oh, and I'm not sure what "Mexican Vanilla" is, but I use regular imitation vanilla extract. :)

Very Vanilla Vegan Pancakes
teamgulley via mylittlecelebration.com
makes 8-10 pancakes | adapted from food.com

Ingredients

1 c flour (1/2 c. all purpose, 1/2 c. white whole wheat)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder {no, not teaspoons}
pinch salt
1 c light vanilla soy milk (I usually use regular milk)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp Mexican vanilla (I use 1 T. vanilla if using regular milk)

Method 

 Turn griddle to medium heat. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the wet and then add them to the dry. Stir until just combined and no large lumps remain. Spoon about 1/3 c measurements onto the greased griddle. Carefully flip when bubbles appear on top or the edges look dry, then cook for 1-2 minutes more. Serve with vegan butter and agave nectar or maple syrup. Or sprinkles, if you dare.

Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans

Oh wow, this soup hit the spot on so many levels. The roasted garlic was just the right touch. Noah couldn't get enough of it! I'm not sure how he fit so many bowls into his little tummy at once, but it kept disappearing and he kept asking for more. I found the soup very tasty and fulfilling. Great soup to divide into individual portions in freezer containers for later!



Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans

TooManyLegos via Veganomicon

2 bulbs roasted garlic (top sliced off, drizzled with olive oil, wrapped in foil and roasted at 400 for 30 to 40 mins)

1 T. olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced as small as possible

1 c. long grain brown rice

2 bay leaves

2 t. dried thyme

1 t. dried marjoram

2 t. salt

several pinches freshly ground black pepper

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can navy beans, drained and rinsed

56 oz water (fill up tomato cans)

Preheat soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes, until translucent.

Add rice, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and the water, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Squeeze roasted garlic out into a bowl and smash it with the back of spoon to make a smooth paste. Add to the soup once the rice is nearly tender. When the soup is completely cooked, add the navy beans and heat through. Remove bay leaves and serve!

Carmelized Onion and Zucchini Pizza

The pesto-ricotta base on this pizza is what gives it a WOW factor. And you really can't go wrong with carmelized onions! With these deep flavors combined, the slices of zucchini were there just to add some texture. I couldn't really taste them. Which, if you have a glut of zucchini and aren't really excited about yet another zucchini recipe, this is great because of the fact the taste is a little overpowered. ;)

*note (added 9/2013) I used Greek yogurt in place of the ricotta cheese and the result was awesome! I am much more likely to have plain yogurt on hand rather than ricotta, so that may be my new way of making this amazing pizza.

I think Perfect Pizza Dough is THE dough to use in this pizza!

Zucchini and Carmelized Onion Pizza

(Ladies Home Journal)

Heat 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat, add 1 medium thinly sliced onion and cook, sitting occasionally until deeply carmelized, about 30 minutes; remove from heat.

In a small bowl combine 1/2 c. ricotta with 2 T. prepared pesto and 1/4 c. grated parmesan.

Stretch 1 lb. pizza dough into a large circle. Spread ricotta mixture over the dough and top with 1 thinly sliced zucchini, spreading carmelized onions over the top of everything. Bake at 450 degrees until crust is golden and crisp, about 12 minutes.

Zucchini Cakes with Tomatillo Cilantro Salsa

Oh me, oh my...using up zucchini never tasted so darn good!

Zucchini Cakes with Tomatillo Cilantro Salsa
Makes about 10 cakes

Ingredients:
2 small zucchini (about 1 cup), shredded
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup corn
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup orange bell pepper, finely diced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crushed
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
3 to 5 tablespoons canola oil
Tomatillo Cilantro Salsa (see recipe below)

Directions:
1. Coarsely shred zucchini, drain on several layers of paper towels, patting dry with more paper towels.
2. In a large bowl, stir together eggs, cheese, flour, red onions, peppers, cumin seeds, oregano, pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in zucchini and corn.
3. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil to medium heat/hight heat. Drop by 1/4 cup full into hot skillet, and slightly flatten. Cook for about 2 minutes pe side or until golden brown. Drain onto paper towels. Keep warm in a 250º F. oven. Serve with tomatillo salsa.

For the Tomatillo Cilantro Salsa...

Ingredients:
8 tomatillos, husk removed and washed
1 jalapeno, chopped
1/2 small white onion
Handful chopped cilantro (about 1/3 cup)
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt

Directions:
Combine the tomatillos, jalapeno and onion in a glass, microwave-safe bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover with paper towels and microwave for 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from microwave, transfer to blender, add the cilantro, lime juice and 2 tsps. salt, blend until smooth. Taste for salt, serve warm or at room temperature.

I had a handful of jalapenos to use up from the Farmer's Market, and this recipe had been calling out to me for weeks. I left the peppers out of the younger boys' sandwiches, even though I think they could have handled it...the heat wasn't too bad since I thoroughly seeded the peppers before roasting them.. Everyone loved these, and they really did remind us of Jalepeno poppers!


Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese
http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/04/jalapeno-popper-grilled-cheese-sandwich.html
Ingredients
2 jalapeno peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
2 slices sour dough bread
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup jack and cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon tortilla chips, crumbled
Directions
Place the peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down.
Place the baking sheet on the top shelf in the oven and broil until the outer layer of the skin has blackened, about 8-14 minutes.
Place the peppers in a zip-lock bag or other sealable container, seal and let them cool until you can handle them, about 20 minutes.
Remove the skins from the peppers. The skins should easily "pinch" off.
Assemble sandwich and grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips

Their simplicity is one of the big reasons I like these muffins...only 7 ingredients! Because they contain no flour, the batter was runny and milky--I was skeptical about them baking properly. But wow, they have amazing texture, and just the right amount of sweetness. I find them a little bit addicting! Perfect to freeze and pull out individually for breakfast each morning (sometimes I pull out two). Something about them reminds me strongly of my Grandma Marshall, so I'm wondering if she used to make something similar to these. I'll be making them often!

Note: I used good old 2 percent cows milk. I added a little honey.

Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips (Sassix)

3 mashed bananas (the more ripe the better!)

1 cup vanilla Almond milk (you could use skim but you may want to add a little sweetener)

2 eggs

1 tbsp Baking powder

3 cups (240g) Old Fashion or Rolled Oats

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp (42g) mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips together, and let sit while you prepare the muffin pans.

Spray a muffin pan and/or liners with with non-stick spray.

Stir the chocolate chips into the oatmeal batter.

Divide batter into 15 muffin cups. They should be just about filled.

Bake 20-30 minutes, you’ll see the edges just starting to brown and they will be firm to the touch.

The muffins may stick when hot but are removed easily when cooled for a bit