From the Archives: Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

This is one of Scott's favorites.  I came up with this after looking through several recipes. 

Stuffed Green Peppers:
1-1 1/2lbs 93/7 ground beef
Enough green peppers for everyone to have at least 1 serving (more if you want)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 box Zatarain's Dirty Rice mixture
1 package of shredded cheese (doesn't matter what kind)

Directions:
Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After browned, drain the meat and return to pan. Make the Dirty Rice according to the box's directions in the same skillet with the meat. Meanwhile, cut off the tops of the green peppers and pull out the inside and seeds. Layer rice mixture, cheese and spaghetti sauce in the peppers. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the peppers start to brown a bit.

Modifications:

-I like to use spaghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce because spaghetti sauce has all of the extra herbs added to it.
-Today I used mozzarella cheese that I had left over but a lot of times I will just use whatever shredded cheese that I have in the fridge, i.e. Colby Jack, Cheddar, etc.
-A lot of people will season white rice or long grain brown rice with whatever seasoning that they like but I really love the flavor of the dirty rice so I always use this.

Here's what you'll need:

Brown the ground beef.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

While the beef is browning, cut off the tops of the green peppers and take out the inside and the seeds.

Drain the beef.

Following the directions on the Zatarain's Dirty Rice box, I added 2 1/2 cups of water to the ground beef.

Add the rice mix.

Let it start to boil.

Cover it for 20-25 minutes.

Put a little cheese in the bottom of the green peppers.

Add the rice mix.

Put in some spaghetti sauce.

Just keep layering.

Pop in the oven for 40-45 minutes.

Once they are brown, pull them out.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
Like I said earlier, this is one of Scott's all-time favorite meals. I actually did it a little different this time. Everytime before I always boiled the peppers and then pulled them out, drained them and stuffed them. This time, though, I just placed all of the rice, cheese and sauce mixture in the raw green pepper and then baked it for 40-45 minutes. Before I never really ate the pepper because it was always kind of soggy but by baking it, the pepper still had that crunchy texture that makes green peppers so good.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Weekly Menu 3

I wanted to try to get next week's shopping list out early in case any of you take advantage of the $10 for $50 at Shop-N-Save. For some reason I just noticed that I have a lot of chicken on this week's recipes. Oh well, if you are not up for this much chicken go back and check the previous weeks meals: Weekly Meal Plan #1

Actually, I just remembered that next Thursday is my birthday so one of these meals will be carried over to the next week because I'm not cooking on my birthday! LOL

Remember to go through your pantry and fridge to eliminate buying something you don't need. Look for coupons and sale items.

Shopping List
6-7 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (for the entire week)
1 12oz bag of frozen cheese tortellini
3 small onions
1 bunch green onions
6 cloves of garlic
1 bunch broccoli
1 bunch celery
1 lime or 1 plastic lime juice
3 medium tomatoes
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 (14.5) oz can chicken broth
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans
1 small can of mushroms stems and pieces
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning
1pkg flour or corn tortilla (whole wheat works, too)
1 pkg of crusty bread (french, sour dough, etc)
1 pkg spinach pasta
Butter or margarine
Grated Parmesan cheese
1 pkg Colby Jack or your favorite cheese
1 pkg shredded cheddar cheese
1 small container sour cream
1 (4 oz) can green chiles
1 box of white or brown rice (not instant)
1 (6 oz ) can black olives
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
1 jar chicken bouillon cubes
Fresh basil or dry basil
Garlic salt
Onion salt
Paprika
Dry Parsley
Italian seasoning
Red Pepper flakes
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Onion powder

Look through these main dishes and think of what you would like to have as sides: I think we will have a Ceasar salad with the tortellini, some crusty bread with the pasta fagioli and some rice and beans with the enchiladas. Don't forget to buy those extra side items!

Chicken and Cheese Tortellini

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1 12 oz package frozen tortellini, with cheese filling uncooked
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/3 onion, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 T fresh chopped basil or 2 t dried basil

Directions:

Cook the tortellini by following the directions on the package, drain and set aside. Heat butter in skillet on medium-high. Add chicken, onion, garlic, broccoli and basil. Add tortellini, tomato and parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper, if desired.

-Can substitute peeled and deveined shrimp for chicken.
-Can substitute 1-2 cups fresh chopped spinach for broccoli


Served with Ceasar Salad

Creamy Chicken Rice with Veggies

4 Chicken Breasts
1 can cream of chicken
3/4 cup of water
tsp garlic salt
tsp onion salt
tsp paprika
1/2-3/4 bag of frozen mixed veggies
1 small can of mushrooms stems and pieces
1 1/2-2 cups of colby jock or your fav cheese
3/4 cup of White or Brown Long Grain Rice (Not Instant)
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Directions:

Preheat 375. Measure just over 3/4 cup of water and drop in 2 boullion cubes in water and microwave for 2-2 1/2 minutes. Spray a 9x13 baking dsh with cooking spray or olive oil 13x9 inch dish. Mix cream of chicken soup, water, garlic salt, onion salt, veggies, mushrooms and rice and put in baking dish. Top with Chicken (cut into pieces to speed up cooking time). Sprinkle chicken with paprika or any other herb mixture you prefer. Bake uncovered at 375 for about 45 min or until chicken is to 165 degrees. Top with cheese and stick back in oven for about 5 more minutes to melt.

Pasta Fagioli

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup uncooked spinach pasta
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, with liquid

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook celery, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, red pepper and salt until onion is translucent. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce, and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes. Add pasta and cook 10 minutes, until pasta is tender. Add undrained beans and mix well. Heat through. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

-can cut up bacon into small slices of bacon or pancetta, fry in the dutch oven until crisp and then add other ingredients.

Angela's Awesome Enchiladas (from All Recipes)

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cut into chunks
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
5 (12 inch) flour tortillas
3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives

Directions

Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces are no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. Set the shredded chicken aside. Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

Home Seasoning

In most of my recipes you will see that I season veggies and meat with Home Seasoning. I got this recipe one day while watching Paula Deen and it is fantastic!

1 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 garlic powder

I mixed this up and put it in a big sugar shaker so it really flows out. To buy this seasoning it is over $7.00!

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 medium green pepper, sliced
2 T butter
1lb thinly sliced roast beef
6 hoagie rolls, split
6 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese
4 beef bouillon cubs
2 cups water


Directions: In a large skillet, saute mushrooms, onions and green peppers in butter until tender. Divide beef among rolls. Top with vegetables and cheese; replace tops. Place on an ungreased baking sheet; cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until heated through. Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, heat bouillon and water until cubes are dissolved; serve as a dipping sauce.

Here's what I started with:



Modifications:

-I used 2 containers of pre-packaged deli style roast beef

-I used the left over Provolone cheese that I had from last week's Baked Ziti.

Here's how I did it:

#1 I wiped off the mushrooms with a paper towel and then cut them up. I cut up the onions and the green pepper. I sauted the mushrooms, onions and green pepper in the 2T butter. I then added the roast beef to the saute mixture and seasoned it with Home Seasoning. I cut open the hoagie rolls and put the mixture in it. Covered it with cheese and baked it in the oven.

#2 I sliced the mushrooms.



#3 I sliced the green peppers



#4 Sliced the onions



#5 I put 2 cups of water in a sauce pan and added 4 beef bouillon cubes.



#6 I melted 2 T of butter in a saute pan.

#7 I sliced open the bread while the butter was melting.

#8 I added the mushrooms, green peppers and onions to the butter.

#9 After the mixture had cooked for a bit, I ladled in 1 cup of the beef bouillon stock into the onion mixture.

#10 After the mixture had cooked for a while and onions were soft, I added the prepackaged deli roast beef and seasoned the pan with Home Seasoning.

#11 While the mixture was cooking, I sliced the meat up into smaller slices. I then filled one of the rolls with meat and veggies and then covered it with a slice of cheese.





#12 I popped the sandwiches in the oven with the potatoes for about 5-7 minutes until the cheese really melted.



The Finished Product:



Review:We absolutely loved these sandwiches. Had I let the roast beef get just a little bet burnt on the ends, I don't think that we would have been able to tell a difference in these and what we would get at a restaurant. Next time, though, I think I will really slice up the roast beef before I put it in the pan. I noticed that the slices were way too big once I already had both packages in the pan with the onion, peppers and mushrooms and it was kind of difficult to cut the meat while it was already in the pan.

We will definitely make these sandwiches again and again.

Crockpot Upside Down Chicken Pot Pie

This is a really easy recipe and it was really good. After eating this Scott told me, "I don't know what your inspiration has been lately but whatever it is, keep it up". (I guess that meant that he really liked it).

Here's what I started with:




Crockpot Upside Down Chicken Pot Pie Recipe:
1 1/4 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 T dried, minced onion
1 bay leaf
1 jar chicken gravy
2 medium celery stalks, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 bag frozen vegetables
2 1/4 cups Original Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk
How I did it:
Place chicken in slow cooker. Top with onion, bay leaf, pepper and chicken gravy. Place celery on gravy. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, make and bake 8 biscuits usin biscuit mix and milk as directed on package. Gently stir frozen vegetables into chicken mixture. Increase setting to High and cook covered for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf. For each serving, split biscuit and place in soup bowl or tart pan. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken on mixture on top biscuit.
Modifications:
-Instead of using Bisquick, just use frozen biscuits.
-Add a bit more liquid, and eat as a soup.
#1 Season the chicken (I used Home Seasoning)

#2 Put the chicken thighs in a crockpot.

#3 Add in the 1 Tablespoon of dried, minced onion

#4 Drop in the bay leaf and cover with the chicken gravy

#5 Chop up the celery

#6 Let it cook for 8-10 hours. The chicken will literally fall apart.

#7 About 30 minutes before we were ready to eat, I preheated the oven to 450 degrees and added the bag of frozen vegetables.

#8 Time to make the biscuits . . .2 1/4 cups of the Bisquick

#9 Plus, 2/3 cups of milk. The first time I didn't read the directions and I added 2 CUPS of milk . . . clearly, I had to start that over. LOL

#10 Stir

#11 I dropped them on an ungreased cookie sheet and baked for about 10 minutes.

#11 These biscuits were YUMMY. I've only had the frozen biscuits before and I could have kept eating and eating these.

#12 Open a biscuit and pile on the chicken and vegetable mixture.

Review:

This was such an easy meal to make. After about 2 hours of cooking, it filled the house with a wonderful aroma. I couldn't wait to eat it. Scott said that he didn't think he was going to like the biscuit but it really tasted exactly like a pot pie.

If you like your pot pie to be a little runnier, you might want to add in an extra jar of gravy or half of a jar about an hour or so before you are going to eat.

This was definitely another successful meal!