Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

Yum!  This was my first time making stuffed peppers, and they were great!  My in-laws grew some beautiful bell peppers, and we couldn't wait to use them for this recipe.  It's a great all-in-one recipe: meat, starch, and veggies all together.  They're easy to make and very tasty.  Hope you like them!

Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 pound ground beef
1/2 (1 oz) package taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp water, divided
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup cooked rice
2 Tbsp minced onion flakes
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (8 oz) can Rotel tomatoes, drained
4 large green bell peppers
Shredded pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9"x13" dish with cooking spray. 

Place the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown the meat, breaking it apart into crumbles as it cooks, about 8 minutes.  Drain the excess fat.  Stir in the taco seasoning, 3/4 cup water, chili powder, cooked rice, tomato sauce, garlic salt, and minced onion flakes; mix until thoroughly combined, and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove stems, membranes, cores, and seeds.  Place in a microwave-safe dish with 2 Tablespoons of water.  Cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave for 3 minutes. 

Place the steamed peppers into the prepared 9"x13" dish, and fill lightly with the meat filling.  Top each pepper with a spoonful of the Rotel tomatoes and a handful of shredded cheese.  Cover the dish with foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. 

Fresh Corn on the Cob

This isn't as much a recipe as it is a new way (for me, at least) to cook corn on the cob.  We were lucky enough to get sweet corn still in the husk, and I had no idea you could cook it in the microwave!  It's fast, easy, and delicious!  You can serve the corn however you like: butter is always a good option, and this recipe with Parmesan cheese was great, too.

Fresh Corn on the Cob

Loosely wrap ears of corn, still in husks, on a damp paper towel.  Turn ears over and rearrange after half the cooking time. 

Cooking Time Table
1 ear - 1 1/2 minutes
2 ears - 3-4 minutes
3 ears - 5-6 minutes
4 ears - 7-8 minutes
5 ears - 8-9 minutes

When ears are hot to the touch, remove them and wrap in kitchen towel or foil.  Let stand for at least 5 minutes.  Remove husks and silk, and serve as desired.

Vegetable Quesadillas

After an indulgent weekend, we both knew our bodies needed vegetables.  Instead of going a traditional route, I made these vegetable quesadillas, and they were so good!  We probably canceled out any health benefits of the vegetables with the amount of pepper jack cheese we added, but I don't regret that, either.  

I was so hungry at the end of this process that I just melted the cheese on the tortilla in the microwave.  Of course, to be more authentic (and to add crispiness to the tortillas), you should heat them in a skillet.  Either way, you should try these!

Vegetable Quesadillas

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp pickled jalapeno slices, diced
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (use Monterey Jack if you want less spiciness)
3 large flour tortillas

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add red and green bell pepper, and cook for 10 more minutes.  Finally, add mushrooms and jalpenos; cover and cook for 5 more minutes. 

Pile a third of the cheese on one of the tortillas, and heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until the cheese has melted.  Remove it from the microwave, and pile a third of the vegetable mixture on half of the tortilla.  Fold the tortilla so that the vegetables are covered.  Serve warm.

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

What a wonderful, filling side dish!  The cheese sauce has the same base as my favorite macaroni and cheese dish.  If you don't eat them all, they are great reheated (for dinner and for breakfast).  The down side to these is that they take a whopping 1 1/2 hours to bake, so you need to plan ahead for these.  However, if you're awaiting your hubby's return from the river, these will make both of you happy.  Enjoy!

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

4 russet potatoes
1 small yellow onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a one-quart dish with cooking spray. Layer sliced potatoes in the prepared baking dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium-sized saucepan, sauté the diced onion in one tablespoon of butter. When the onions become translucent, pour them on top of the potatoes.

In the same saucepan, melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted. Pour cheese over the potatoes, and cover the dish with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Green Beans Y'all Won't Believe

I didn't make up the title for this recipe. It is actually called "Green Beans Y'all Won't Believe" (so says the newspaper in which the recipe was published). It's pretty true, though; they're delicious!

We didn't have fresh green beans available, but if you do, use 1 1/2 lbs of them in his recipe. Instead, we used 2 cans, and it was great. Hope you like them!

Green Beans Y'all Won't Believe

2 cans green beans, drained and rinsed OR 1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans
5 strips bacon
6 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp vinegar
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350. If using fresh green beans, rinse the beans, and remove ends and strings. Leave whole or cut into one-inch pieces. In a 2-quart saucepan, cook beans in a small amount of boiling, salted water, covered for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and tender. drain and set aside.

If using canned beans, drain, rinse, and set aside. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, drain, and crumble; reserve 1 tablespoon of drippings in the skillet. Stir sugar and vinegar into the drippings.

Pour sugar mixture, green beans, and crumbled bacon into a casserole dish, and combine. Bake for 45 minutes or until heated through.

Pioneer Woman Green Bean Casserole

As with everything that comes from the Pioneer Woman, this was excellent.  I scaled it down for just the two of us, and I used canned green beans instead of fresh just because it was easier, and we both really liked it. 

She made it as an alternative to the green bean casserole made with cream of mushroom soup and French fried onions on top.  We loved the addition of red bell pepper and all of the typical goodness of bacon and onion and breadcrumbs.  Delightful!

Pioneer Woman Green Bean Casserole

2 cans Italian cut green beans
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1/4 - 1/2 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 roasted red bell pepper, diced
1/4 - 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350.  Drain and rinse canned green beans and set aside. 

Add bacon pieces to a skillet over medium heat.  Cook for two minutes, and then add onion, and cook for additional 3-5 minutes, or until bacon is done and onions are golden brown.  Remove from skillet.

Add butter to skillet and melt over medium heat.  Sprinkle flour in, and whisk immediately for 2 minutes.  Add in milk, whisking for 2-3 minutes, or until mixture is thickened.  Add salt, pepper, cayenne, and Cheddar.  Stir while cheese melts; turn off heat. 

Add bell pepper to pan, and then add bacon/onion mixture.  Stir gently to combine.  Top with bread crumbs, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Turkey Vegetable Soup

My mom tells me that this originated as a Weight Watchers recipe, so if you have a certain new year's resolution to keep, this soup will keep you in line.  She jazzed it up with the onion, celery, and Cajun seasoning, which departed from the original recipe, but those additions only made it better.  (Half a teaspoon of Cajun seasoning doesn't sound like much, but it adds a considerable kick to this big pot of soup.  Remember that you can always add more seasoning, but you can't take it out once it's in.  Start small.) 

My mom also told me for probably about a year how good this soup was, but I was wholeheartedly not interested.  For whatever reason, nothing about it sounded appealing. 

I was so wrong.

This really is very good and satisfying.  You can make it with ground turkey or lean ground beef; you won't be able to taste the difference.  It's a hearty soup, so feel free to add more broth if you don't want it to be so thick.  This warm, healthy soup is perfect for cold, rainy evenings.  A warm bowl of soup has the power to lift your spirits besides raising your body temperature.  Try it once, and you'll see how very good it is.

Turkey Vegetable Soup

1 lb ground turkey (or lean ground beef)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 (12oz) can V8 juice
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can original Rotel tomatoes
1 can Veg-All (liquid drained)
1 (14oz) can chicken broth
1/4 to 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's Seasoning (or other Cajun seasoning)

Brown turkey, celery, and green onions slowly in a pot sprayed with cooking spray.  Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute.  Add the remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes.  Serve warm with cornbread.

Cashew Broccoli

We had this really delicious broccoli for our Christmas dinner.  If you have trouble eating your broccoli (like we sometimes do in our house), this is such a great recipe!  (How can it not be delicious with 6 ounces of sour cream?)

We didn't exactly measure out 2 pounds of broccoli, but we used 2 (12oz) frozen steamer bags.  The minced onion that the recipe calls for is not the minced onion flakes that are so handy--it's real onion.  Also, if you can't find white wine vinegar, you can use regular white vinegar; that's what we did, and it still tasted wonderful.

Cashew Broccoli

2 lbs broccoli
2 Tbsp minced onion
3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp paprika
3 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chopped cashews

Steam broccoli until tender.  Saute onion in butter; add sour cream, sugar, poppy seeds, paprika, vinegar, and salt and pepper.  Arrange broccoli on a serving plate.  Pour sauce over broccoli, and sprinkle with cashews.  Serves 6.

Twice-Baked Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes

This was really good!  It's a meal all by itself.  Whenever I make grilled shrimp, I usually serve it with a baked potato, so this just combined them. 

This is a Paula Deen recipe from a particularly ridiculous Christmas special that was on Food Network a couple of weeks ago in which her two grown sons dressed up like elves and her husband dressed up as Elvis-Santa.  I love her, but I miss the old Paula--the one who didn't say "y'all" every other word, the one who didn't scream and cackle like a witch, the one who didn't deep-fry every other ingredient.

Christmas time makes me nostalgic.

Anyway.

Twice-baked potatoes are always delicious, and they only get better with shrimp sauteed in a pat of butter.  Also, don't skip sprinkling the potatoes with paprika; it smelled wonderful!  We cut the recipe in half, but I'm posting the whole recipe below.  My mom and I enjoyed making these together, and I'm sure your family will enjoy them, too. 

Twice-Baked Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes

6 large Idaho potatoes
Vegetable oil, for coating
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
Salt and ground black pepper
1 pound shrimp, peeled and sauteed
8 oz grated Cheddar cheese
Paprika, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350.  Cover a baking sheet or pan with foil. 

Begin by washing the potatoes, drying them, and gently prinking them with a fork on all sides.  Coat each potato with vegetable oil, place on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour. 

Remove the potatoes from the oven, and slice them in half.  Scoop out the inside of the potato, and place in a large bowl.  Place the butter in the bowl.  Using a mixter on high, mix toghether, and then add the sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. 

Chop the shrimp into large pieces.  Fold the shrimp and cheese into the mixture.  Gently stuff the mixture back into the potato shells, making sure not to break them.  Pile the mixture as high as you can on top of the potato shells.  Sprinkle each potato with paprika.  Bake in the oven until browned on top, 20-25 minutes. 

Creamy Fried Confetti Corn

YUM.  I made this alongside the chicken cakes, and this was an amazing dish, again from Southern Living.  It would be perfect at your Christmas table.   I tried to lighten it up (as much as you can lighten up a dish with 8 slices of bacon) by using half the amount of cream cheese (4 ounces instead of 8) and 1% milk instead of half-and-half, and it still tasted delicious.  I made a couple of other changes that I'll reflect below.  So delicious.

Creamy Fried Confetti Corn

8 bacon slices, chopped
4 cups sweet corn kernels (about 8 ears or about 2 large cans)
1 medium size onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (I used jarred red bell pepper)
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Cook chopped bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon and drain on paper twoels, reserving 2 tablespoons of droppings in the skillet.  Set aside bacon. 

Saute corn, onion, and bell peppers in hot drippings in skillet over medium-high heat for 6 minutes or until tender.  Add cream cheese and milk, stirring until cream cheese melts.  Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper.  Top with bacon.  Yields 6-8 servings.

Spicy Mushrooms

These mushrooms are very good, but please do note the title: they are spicy!  


This is another recipe from this month's Food Network Magazine, and it was really easy to put together.  It's also nice because it's easily adaptable to fit what you have around the house.  The original recipe called for 2 plum tomatoes, but I used 1 roma tomato; the original wanted 2 seeded fresh jalapenos, but I used 8 or 9 slices of pickled jalapenos.  Instead of starting with unpeeled garlic cloves to roast, I used the minced ones that come in water.  And it all worked out great.


I didn't think they'd be very hot.  Yes, the jalapeno slices had seeds, but I didn't think they'd be as potent with all the mushrooms and onions.  I was wrong.  They're hot!  If your family doesn't like spicy food, scale back the jalapenos.


Spicy Mushrooms


1 roma tomato
8 slices pickled jalapenos
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
Olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
Juice of 1 lime
Parsley, for garnish


Cut tomato into quarters, and set on baking sheet skin-side-up along with jalapenos and garlic.  Broil for 5-6 minutes or until charred.  Peel the garlic, and chop the vegetables.  Saute the onion and mushrooms in olive oil and salt to taste for 8 minutes.  Add the tomato mixture, the chicken broth, and some chopped parsley; cook 5 minutes.  Stir in the juice of 1 lime.

Green Beans with Goat Cheese and Bacon

Holy cow!  These are the best green beans I've ever had.  I could eat these every night and be happy. 

As Biz's favorite vegetable, we're usually willing to try new ways of preparing them, and these were incredible.  I'm sure they're even better if you use fresh haricots verts, but I used good ol' canned green beans.  The goat cheese is what really dressed these up.  (The real truth is that I could eat goat cheese every day and be happy.)  And what isn't better with bacon?

This is delicious enough to serve on a special occasion or on a weeknight.  The goat cheese is a little bit of a splurge, but the canned green beans save you some money, so it all evens out, right?

Green Beans with Goat Cheese and Bacon

1 (14.5 oz) can green beans (I used Italian cut)
3 strips bacon
2 oz goat cheese

In a small skillet, fry the bacon strips over medium heat.  Remove when finished, and set aside.  Pour out all but one teaspoon of bacon grease. 

In a microwaveable bowl, heat green beans for 3 minutes.  In pan with bacon grease, combine goat cheese and green beans until cheese melts.  Transfer to serving dish, and crumble bacon on top.  Serve hot. 

Cracker Salad

Happy 4th of July!

This is my mom's recipe, and it has become a favorite at my family's get-togethers. It's so fast and easy to make, and it's especially great if you're using homegrown tomatoes.  I admit that I left out the hardboiled egg the recipe calls for(I didn't want the kitchen to smell bad), and I couldn't taste a difference.  It's also nice that you can put everything together as early as you need to, and just add the crushed crackers at the very end. 

This is a very tasty and easy side dish.  You'll like it!

Cracker Salad

2-3 medium tomatoes, finely diced
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups low fat mayonnaise
1 hardboiled egg, chopped
1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
Salt and pepper

Combine the diced tomatoes, chopped green onions, mayonnaise, and hardboiled egg in a casserole dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Immediately before serving, pour the crushed cracker crumbs on top of the tomato mixture. 

Southern Tomato Pie

Mmm....delicious.  This recipe is adapted from Ezra Pound Cake's, and it's a delicious way to eat some fresh tomatoes.  With fresh basil, sweet Vidalia onion, and a bit of corn, it's a celebration of summer vegetables and herbs. 

The recipe calls for peeled tomatoes, so here's how you can do it: Bring a pot of water to a boil, but have a bowl of ice water ready.  Slice a small X in the base of the tomatoes, and place them in the boiling water for no more than one minute.  After the minute, using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatoes from the boiling water to the ice water for a few seconds.  The tomatoes' skins will pull away easily.

The best way to serve this pie is with a serving spoon; don't even bother with a knife. 

Southern Tomato Pie

1 (9-inch) deep dish pie crust
3-4 medium tomatoes, peeled
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Kernels from one ear of corn (or half of a small can of corn)
1/2 large Vidalia onion, sliced
1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Pinch of oregano

Bake the pie crust.  When it has finished baking, set the oven to 350. 

Horizontally slice the tomatoes in 1/4-inch slices.  Place them in a colander, and lightly sprinkle them with salt.  Let them drain in the colander for 10-15 minutes.  Then set the tomato slices on several paper towels, and set aside. 

Prepare the onion and corn, if you haven't done so already.

In a medium bowl, combine the cheeses and mayonaisse, and set aside. 

Arrange the tomato slices in the bottom of the pie crust; season them with salt, pepper, and a pinch of oregano.  Layer half of the basil on top of the tomatoes, followed by the onion, corn, and the other half of the basil.  Place the cheese/mayo mixture on top in large spoonfuls.  Using a spatula, spread the mixture to cover the top of the pie.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Bell Pepper Baked Beans

We made these beans as a side dish the other night, and this was an easy and tasty way to dress up a regular can of baked beans.  The recipe, which I adapted from AllRecipes, calls for green bell pepper, which was great and gave it a very unique taste, but I'm sure it would be still be wonderful with the more traditional caramelized onion.  Yum!   It also says to heat them in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes (thus making them baked beans), but if you're short on time, I'm sure you'd be fine just heating everything on the stove in a pot for a while.  

 This recipe only yields 2-3 servings, so feel free to double or triple it for a family.  It's theperfect side for a summer barbecue (or for pretending this freezing winter will end soon!).  

 Bell Pepper Baked Beans

 1 (15oz) can pork and beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 strip bacon
3 Tbsp barbecue sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp mustard


In a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; remove to a paper towel.  Saute green pepper in drippings until tender.  


In a bowl, pour drained can of beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, green pepper, and mustard.  Chop strip of bacon and add to mixture.  Pour into a greased 1 qt. baking dish.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes.  

Corn Casserole

This casserole is so delicious and has such basic ingredients.  You might want to save it for a special occasion, since you probably don't want to eat so much butter and sour cream on a random weeknight; then again, wouldn't this make any given Tuesday night so much better?  Either way, this was really good.  I went back for seconds.

Corn Casserole

1 can whole kernel corn
1 can creamed corn
1 stick butter
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 cup sour cream
Parmesan cheese

Mix together first five ingredients and pour into casserole dish.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 for one hour.

Homemade Green Bean Casserole

If you haven't picked out all your sides for Christmas dinner, you might want to work this one in.  We're fans of the classic green bean casserole with the cream of mushroom soup and the French fried onions, but the sour cream and the Ritz cracker crumbs made this one even more delicious.

Homemade Green Bean Casserole

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp white sugar

1/4 cup onion, diced

1 cup sour cream

3 (14.5 oz) cans French or Italian style green beans, drained

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup crumbled Ritz crackers

1 Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and add onions.  Cook until onions are transparent, about 10 minutes.  Stir in flour until smooth, and cook for one minute.  Stir in the salt, sugar, and sour cream.  Add the green beans, and stir to coat.  Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish.  Spread the shredded cheese over the top.  In a small bowl, toss the cracker crumbs with the tablespoon of melted butter, and sprinkle over the cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cheese is golden and melted.  



Green Bean Casserole

This green bean casserole is a classic for a reason: it's delicious.  You know you're going to have some green beans at Thanksgiving, and you might be looking for new recipes, but why try to fix something that isn't broken?  You've probably forgotten how good this is.

Green Bean Casserole

1 (10.75oz) can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp balck pepper
1 1/3 cups French fried onions
2 (14.5oz) green beans, drained (or 2 9oz pkgs frozen green beans, thawed)

Mix soup and milk, then add pepper, gren beans, and 2/3 cup onions in a 1-1/2 qt. casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot.  Stir, top with remaining onions, and bake 5 minutes.