Stuffed Peppers

We never once had stuffed peppers for dinner when I was growing up. Never. Ever. The first time I ever saw a stuffed pepper was in the college dining center, and lots of friends commented on how much they dreaded it when their moms announced that they'd be having stuffed peppers for dinner. So...I'm not exactly sure what posessed me to try stuffed peppers in the first place! We've had them several times (one version is posted here), and this is my favorite recipe. I like that this one doesn't have any tomatoes, and I love the cornmeal topping!

This meal is really quite simple to put together, but there's a lot of preparation involved, most of which is chopping. (And by the way, if you have a good, sharp knife, it makes prep time a lot less tedious! Always remember, a dull knife is a dangerous knife.) There's also rice to prepare. What I'm telling you is this: this is not a quick meal to throw together. Don't even attempt it on a night that you're super-busy or super-tired. Save it for a day when you have plenty of time, and it will be well worth it. The leftovers heat up beautifully, and lots of times I have filling left over. When that happens, I portion it into ramekins, add the cornmeal topping, and bake. That way I have little pre-portioned lunches to just grab out of the fridge. And a bonus: it's healthy, too!

Stuffed Peppers

Adapted slightly from Heather's Website

4 medium green bell peppers

8 oz. lean ground beef

1 1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 tsp. salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

1/2 tsp Greek seasoning (I use Cavender's)

1/4 cup chopped green onions (I use the whole thing)

1 tbs. chopped parsley leaves

2 tbs. plain cornmeal

2 tbs. grated parmesan

4 tsp. canola oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook brown rice.

Cut off the top quarter of each bell pepper and reserve. Scoop the seeds and veins out from the inside of each pepper and discard. Set bell pepper shells aside. Removed and discard the stems from each bell pepper top. Dice enough of the bell pepper tops to make 1/2 cup. Set aside.

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the onions, 1/2 cup diced bell pepper, and celery. Saute for 4 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the rice and mix well. Season with salt, pepper, and Greek seasoning. Cook for about 1 imnute. Remove from the heat and stir in the green onions and parsley. Season the insides of each bell pepper shell with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the rice mixutre into the bell peppers.

In a small bowl, combine the cornmeal and cheese. Season with a pinch of Greek seasoning and mix well. Sprinkle the crust over each pepper. Top each crust with 1 tsp. of canola oil and place the peppers into an 8-inch baking dish or pan. Add just enough water to cover the bottom, about 1/3 cup. Bake for 25-30 inutes, or until the tops are crust and brown and the filling is warmed through. Serve hot.

White Castle Casserole

Is it health food? Nope. Is it gourmet? Absolutely not. Is it good? You bet.

My friends, I give you White Castle Casserole! I originally printed this recipe from RecipeZaar (which is apparently food.com now) on March 11th, 2010, and I can't figure out why it's taken me so long to give it a try! I have always liked White Castle, but there's not one that close by, so this was a great copycat recipe for those times when you want some White Castles, but a visit to the restaurant just isn't in the cards. (And yes, I know that you can buy frozen White Castles at the grocery, but it's not the same. Sometimes the bun gets hard, and they're just not as good when that happens!)

It's not exactly the same as a real White Castle, but it gets pretty close. I used the reduced fat crescent rolls for this, and they seemed a little "off". Next time, I'll use the full-fat ones. Because, really, if you're the kind of person who is making White Castle Casserole, are you really counting the calories and fat? Probably not. :)

White Castle Casserole

Stacieleah, via Food.com

1 package dry onion soup mix

2 (12 oz) cans crescent rolls

1.25 lb. hamburger

American cheese slices (or shredded cheese of your choice)

Dill pickle slices

Mustard

Cook hamburger with onion mix. Drain extremely well. Lay a whole can of crescent rolls in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish (do not break the rolls apart). Layer hamburger, cheese, pickles, and mustard up and down across the pan. Lay a whole can of crescent rolls on top. Bake at 350 degrees until brown. Cut in squares and enjoy! (Makes 8 servings)

Johnny Mazetti for a Living Treasure

My father-in-law, Earl, is a living treasure. Don't believe me? Click here to read all about it! He grew up in the Panama Canal Zone, and one of the local newspapers interviewed him about his childhood there, and his life after leaving the Canal Zone. It's really interesting...especially the part that explains why mosquitoes don't really bother him much anymore!
A couple of months ago, he emailed me a recipe for something called Johnny Mazetti, which is a dish he grew up eating in the Canal Zone. From what I understand, everyone in the Canal Zone loved this Johnny Mazetti stuff, and they're astounded to learn that it didn't originate there! In fact, the recipe is a variation of a different dish called Johnny Marzetti (notice the r here), which originated in a restaurant in Ohio! And after some research, it seems that Johnny Marzetti is a well-loved recipe in the Northeast (Ohio, Wisconsin, etc.). I'm just a little ol' Kentucky girl, and I'd never heard of the stuff before.

There are some differences between Johnny Mazetti and Johnny Marzetti. The Zonian version uses egg noodles, where the Ohio verison calls for elbow macaroni. The Zonian recipe requires something called Arturo sauce, whereas the Ohio version uses a spaghetti sauce. I found my recipe here (because I lost the one Earl emailed to me), and was pleased to find that it even included a recipe for the elusive Arturo sauce (because I certainly wasn't buying a case of the stuff). It seems that Arturo sauce is a key ingredient to Zonian Johnny Mazetti, because when Earl told his sister Mary that I was making Johnny Mazetti, she said, "How is she going to make Johnny Mazetti? She doesn't have Arturo sauce!" And let me tell you, this Arturo sauce is interesting stuff. Some of the ingredients: mushrooms, cider vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar. When I mixed mine up, I couldn't decide if it smelled wonderful or horrible. I decided it would be best not to decide.
The recipe is really simple to prepare...there's just a lot of chopping and shredding involved. Green peppers, onions, celery, capers, olives, three kinds of cheese, etc. As I was reviewing the recipe, I thought to myself, "This is glorified homemade Hamburger Helper!" And I guess maybe it is. But I'd call it gourmet Hamburger Helper, at the very least. There are LOTS of strong flavors going on, and I was very skeptical about how it would come together. To my surprise, it was delicious! David and I both commented on how it smelled...it reminded us both of Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza from Hometown Pizza (a local pizza place). The creamy cheese, tangy olives, and wonderfully weird Arturo sauce combined for one delicious casserole. If you're stuck in a dinner rut and need something new and delicious, you should definitely give this one a try!

Johnny Mazetti

Recipe adapted from Best Room in the House

1 lb. ground beef

1-2 tsp. olive oil

1 green pepper, chopped fine

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1 medium can mushrooms, drained

3 cloves garlic

salt & pepper to taste

1 can tomato soup

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp. chopped capers

1 can Arturo sauce (see recipe below)

1/2 bottle stuffed olives, drained and chopped

3/4 of 1 pkg. of egg noodles (maybe less), boiled

1/2 lb. shredded American cheese (shred your own!)

1/4 lb. shredded Swiss cheese (shred your own!)

1/4 lb. shredded mozzarella (shred your own!)

5 strips bacon, fried and crumbled

1/4 cup red or white wine (use white wine on odd days and red on even)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish (at least 9x13) with cooking spray. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Brown ground beef in a very large skillet. Remove from skillet and drain well. Heat olive oil and saute green pepper, garlic, onion, and celery until softened. Add ground beef back to skillet and add mushrooms, tomato soup, tomato sauce, capers, Arturo sauce, and olives. Simmer on low until thoroughly heated. While the mixture is simmering, boil egg noodles, but not until they're al dente. They should still be a little undercooked. Pour contents of skillet into a very large bowl. Add in the half of each of the three shredded cheeses and al of the egg noodles. Mix until thoroughly combined. Place into greased casserole dish and top with remaining cheese and bacon. Bake for 1 hour. Yields 6-8 servings.

Arturo Sauce

Yields approximately 1 cup

1/4 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 Tbs. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. black pepper

pinch of ginger

pinch of nutmeg

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Stuffed Peppers

I haven't been keeping up with my blog like I'd like to. It's been kind of neglected for the last couple of weeks, but let me tell you why. David and I are in the process of building our house, and in the evenings after work, we go over there and clean up for an hour or two so the construction people/drywall men/etc. can work the next day and not have to walk around/on/through a bunch of debris. This means that our meals haven't been quite as exciting lately, and when they have been, they've been made after dark. And that means that the picture quality isn't great, but I'm figuring out a few spots in the house that will allow me to take a good picture. Tonight, we had stuffed peppers:

First, let me say that these weren't made using my favorite stuffed pepper recipe. I was in a super-big hurry this morning and couldn't find that recipe, but I did find this one. I ran around the house gathering ingredients out of the freezer and sticking them in the fridge in hopes that they'd be thawed out by the time I got home, so that I could assemble the peppers before going to the new house to clean. (But they weren't.) So, we had Ellie Krieger's Stuffed Peppers. They were okay, but I like my other recipe better. She says I should have used red peppers, which I like better, but they were over a dollar each. The green peppers were 88 cents each. That was an easy choice. I like the fact that she used bulgur, spinach, and zucchini in the filling, but there just wasn't enough flavor. If I make these again, I'll have to jazz these up a bit. I'd probably liberally season both the filling and the insides of the peppers with Cavender's Greek Seasoning. I think that would help a lot.

I do like the feta cheese that she suggested I sprinkle on top, but I don't think I used enough. The topping on my favorite stuffed peppers (the one that I can't find the recipe for) includes cornmeal and olive oil. It is delicious...crunchy, corny, and salty. Much better than tomatoes and feta cheese. But that's another post. If you like stuffed peppers, these are definitely worth a try, but they just aren't my favorite. Here's the recipe if you'd like to try them...

Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers

Ellie Krieger

1 lb. lean ground beef

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 medium zucchini, coarsley grated (about 2 cups)

1 small onion, minced (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup bulgur

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper

3 red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, cores and ribs removed

2 (14.5 oz.) cans low-sodium stewed tomatoes, finely chopped

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, spinach, zucchini, onion, bulgur, egg, oregano, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Mix until throughly combined.

Arrange the pepper halves cut side up in a 9x13-inch baking dish and fill each pepper half with the meat mixture. Pour the tomatoes over the peppers and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the meat mixture is completely cooked and the peppers are tender, about 25 minutes longer.

Now, I'll leave you with a picture of the kitchen. We've still got a ways to go, but it's looking better every day!

Beef and Bulgur Casserole

A couple of months ago, I got on a whole grain kick. We'd already made the switch to whole-wheat pasta, which wasn't too tough. Then, I switched us to brown rice instead of white rice. Again, no big deal. They were easy substitutions that didn't require much thought. Then I heard about things like pearled barley, quinoa, steel cut oats, and bulgur. I didn't have any idea about what to make with them, but it sounded like a challenge. During one of our trips to the "big city" of Louisville, David and I stopped by Whole Foods, because the Kroger and Wal-Mart in our town don't have many whole grains outside of whole-wheat pasta and brown rice. I was amazed by the bulk food section at Whole Foods. I didn't even know what half of the stuff was, but I was in awe of the different granola blends. And then I saw where you can grind your own peanut butter. WHAT?! Incredible. Anyway, I stuck to the whole grains list and got a bag each of quinoa, bulgur, and pearled barley.
Then I got the stuff home and thought, "What in the hairy am I gonna do with this stuff?!" Once again, the Internet came to my rescue. I found several yummy recipes for ways to use my fancy, exotic grains, and one of my favorites is the one I'm sharing with you tonight: Beef and Bulgur Casserole. I absolutely love this stuff! I try to lighten it up some by using extra-lean ground beef and reduced-fat cheese, and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. There's a lot of sodium in the recipe, so if that's a concern for you, you'll want to use reduced-sodium tomatoes and broth. But I like things salty, so this is right up my alley.
This was definitely a great meal to help usher in my favorite season...fall! The leaves are changing and there's a little chill in the air, so it's time to dust off all my hearty fall and winter recipes. Yum!

Beef and Bulgur Casserole

Heather's Recipe Site

1 1/2 lbs. extra-lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

14.5 oz Italian diced tomatoes, drained

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup bulgur, uncooked

2 cups water

1 Tbs. fresh parsley (or 1/2 Tbs. dried)

2 tsp. beef bouillon granules

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. pepper

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook ground beef and onion in large skillet, stirring frequently, until beef is browned. Drain. Stir in remaining ingredients (except cheese). Pour into ungreased 2.5 quart casserole dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes, or until bulgur is tender. Stir in cheese, and sprinkle a little more on top for good measure. Serve hot.

Dinner In a Hurry: Tacos Two Ways

Last year, when my sister got married, I gave her a cookbook full of tried-and-true recipes that I had used in my first couple of years as a wife. I called it "The New Wife Cookbook" and was pretty proud of it. I think she and Larry use it pretty regularly, which makes me extremely happy. As one of the very first pages, I included a list of "Dinner In a Hurry" ideas that can be thrown together quickly (generally with what you have on hand) and don't require a recipe. One of the ideas I included was tacos. This is a "Dinner In a Hurry" option that David and I have pretty regularly. About two months ago, I started a new job, and I get home a lot later than I used to. I used to be able to cook a really nice dinner every night. And I used to be the Queen of Casseroles. Not anymore. It's not unusual for me to get home at 7 or after, and when I do get home, I just want something to eat. Nothing fancy, just sustenance. That's when I break out my old "Dinner In a Hurry" standbys. Tonight was one of those nights. So I declared it taco night...two ways: soft tacos for David, taco salad for me.
I love to watch David make his soft tacos. He always says, "This one will be small," and then he starts putting stuff in it and it grows to this monstrous size that he can't even close! I love it! Tonight, though, he knew the pressure was on...
Here's David's very modestly compiled soft taco (pre-roll). I wanted to see if he could actually get it rolled up. Let's see how he did...
Perfect! The three subsequent tacos were not this pretty...he knew they wouldn't be photographed!
Here's my taco salad. I love soft tacos, but sometimes I just want a salad. This really hit the spot...healthy and light, because I used extra lean ground beef (it's a good swap, because you can't tell the difference between it and regular ground beef once the taco seasoning is in it...but don't use it for burgers...use good ol' 80/20 for that). So there you have it. It's not fancy, it's not high-class, but it filled us up. Our bellies are full!