stuffed green peppers

We made these a while ago, but they were simple enough that I could actually help make them (I'm not the best cook) and take pictures simultaneously.  Not to be confused with Chile rellenos which is a similar, but altogether different dish.  Maybe I'm was the only one with that confusion...?  I guess I couldn't rid myself of the association of green peppers and Mexican good.  This is an Italian style dish, but you could definitely tweak the recipe if you wanted it a lil hot n spicy.

Stuffed Green Peppers:

(full recipe can be found here)

-4 large bell peppers

-1 lb ground beef

-2 tbs. chopped onion

-1 cup cooked rice

-1 tsp. salt

-1 clove garlic, finely chopped

-1 can tomato sauce

1. Remove top of each bell pepper and its' innards.

2. Cook em for a bit to crisp them up. 350 degrees.

3. Brown beef, drain, and stir in garlic, rice, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Cook until hot.

4. Stuff peppers with beef and rice, stand them upright in an ungreased glass baking dish.

5. Bake for 10 minutes covered, then 15 minutes uncovered.  Add cheese as desired.

veggie tales

Excuse the overtly geometrical presentation, but this colorful platter was my dinner the other night.  Baked zucchini, tomatoes, and breaded eggplant with mozzarella over orzo pasta...

This is a big deal for several reasons. One of them being that when I was little—among a multitude of other embarrassing occurrences throughout my childhood—I literally only ate chicken fingers with ranch dressing.  At every meal I possibly could I would order fried chicken strips with a side of ranch—I even included a small blob of ranch on a plate when our elementary art project was to sculpt our favorite food.  Hidden Valley's ranch and I have had a love affair that has lasted through the ages.  

While chicken fingers and I have since grown apart and my palette has expanded immensely.  So the amount of vegetables I consumed just the other night was probably more than I had my entire life up until about age thirteen.

Other reasons for this being a big deal are just that it was so unexpectedly delish—I underestimated the scrumptious-ness of a meal without meat—and not to mention pretty!  One of my roommates is a vegetarian and this came from her cookbook, 

Zucchini Casserole:

1. Slice zucchini lengthwise into four strips and brush with oil.

2. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and layer mozzarella, diced tomatoes, basil and/or oregano over it.

4. Bake for 5 more minutes.

Delightful, delicious, de-lovely—see what I did there!?

Uh-Oh Oreos

The two most popular dessert items to be classically paired with milk.  Combined.  I don't know what more there is to say than that.

"Uh-Oh" Oreos:

1. Make any old recipe for chocolate chip cookies

2. Put some flour on your hands to avoid super sticky fingers and mold dough around oreos.  Try not to put too much on them—only enough to cover the oreo because they turn out very large.  

3. Place on greased pan and bake 12-13 minutes.

Similar to what The Londoner writes about the 'slutty brownie', "They're oh so easy, and more than a little bit filthy".  So if you're ready to dip your Oreos in more than just milk, I would definitely give it a go.