Stuffed Peppers

I recently found a recipe for Unstuffed Bell Pepper Bake that I thoroughly enjoy and have made it several times in the last month. That recipe can be found here. Only change I made was used cooked brown rice. I liked this dinner so much, I wanted to make a real stuffed pepper. I made it vegetarian and my family DID NOT EVEN NOTICE!!!! After I told Israel, he felt cheated, but said he really liked it. In the future, he requested I add some cooked ground beef or shredded chicken, so feel free to do so when you make these. Trust me...you're gonna love them meatless or not!

1 cup canned pinto, black or red beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa (you can buy a 60 second microwaveable cup)
3/4 cup frozen corn
1 medium tomato diced
1 zucchini, diced small
1 yellow squash, diced small
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp Chile powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp olive oil
4 bell peppers any color or poblano peppers, seeded and cut in half
1 1/2 cups grated Monterrey jack, cheddar or Colby jack cheese
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together except the peppers and cheese. This stuffing can be made a day in advance, covered and kept refrigerated.
2. Spray a large roasting pan or 9x13 with cooking spray. Mound a generous 1/2 cup stuffing mixture into each pepper half and place in roasting pan. Whatever is left over, just divide among the pepper cups.
3. Cover with foil and bake 50 minutes. Uncover and top with cheese. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

this recipe was inspired by one I found in Clean Eating magazine

Happy Appetizing

I am way past due on a blog post, so I have a ton of appetizer recipes to share. A friend from high school just asked for appetizer ideas for a wine night she was having and since I already typed these up for her in an email, I decided why not post for GrabaFork. I hope you enjoy these appetizers because who doesn't like a good appetizer?

Artichoke Dip  Serves: 6

2 (14oz) cans artichoke hearts, drained

1 cup Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

Dash Tabasco pepper sauce

Chop the artichokes and mix with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly 30-45 minutes. I prefer to mix this together and let sit overnight in fridge. Bake before serving. I serve this with pita chips or baked baguette slices.

Blue Cheese and Date Cream Cheese Spread  Serves: 10-12

3 (8oz) pkg cream cheese

4 oz blue cheese

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 (8oz) pkg dates, chopped

1 cup pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 300 and toast pecans 3-4 minutes. Mix cream cheese, blue cheese, cheddar cheese and chopped dates together. You may make this as a spread or make into one large or 2 small cheese balls, roll in pecans, otherwise sprinkle nuts on top for spread. This can be made 2 days ahead. Do not roll in nuts or sprinkle on top until the day you are serving. I’ve served this with water crackers and the honey Wheatables crackers. I personally am not a huge fan of blue cheese, but the flavor combos here are really good-creamy, crunchy, salty and sweet J If you make this into 2 cheese balls, you could wrap one well and freeze for a future get-together, since you only need a serving for 5-6.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

Click the link above for the recipe. My cousin has made these, but she used a 3 inch circle so the recipe made 8 tartlets instead of 4 tarts. They were very yummy and great for a wine night we had. You can get puff pastry dough in the freezer section.

Naan Veggie Pizzas

Click the link above for the recipe. Obviously, you don’t have to get whole foods brand of these ingredients, but the idea is yummy! You don’t have to grill them either. Saute the chopped veggies in a skillet then bake the pizzas maybe 10 minutes. Instead of eggplant, I would use mushrooms probably instead; very tasty.

Another Naan Veggie Pizza

Very easy.

Patrizio’s Bruschetta (from the North Texas Restaurant) Serves: 6-8

1 loaf baguette

2 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup olive oil

½ cup butter (1 stick)

3 tomatoes, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Slice the bread diagonally into 1 inch slices. Sauté 2 garlic cloves in 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the butter and heat until butter melts.  Spread on the bread slices and place on a cookie sheet.

Combine the tomatoes, 6 garlic cloves, basil and remaining olive oil in a large bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Broil the bread slices for 4 minutes or until light brown. WATCH CLOSELY. Remove from the broiler and adjust oven to 400 degrees. Top the bread slices with the tomato mixtures and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 minutes.

Hot Crab Dip Serves: 6-8

1 (6oz) can crab meat

8 oz cream cheese

2 Tbs Hellmann’s mayonnaise

2 dashes lemon juice

¼ onion, chopped

½ cup chopped fresh Italian or flat-leaf parsley

1 (2oz) package sliced almonds, toasted*

Paprika, to sprinkle on top

Lemon wedges

Combine the crab meat with the cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice and onion in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a 6x6 or similar baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Top with parsley and almonds. Garnish with paprika and lemon wedges on the side. Serve hot with crackers.

*an easy way to toast any kind of nut, is to put them on a large plate and microwave in 2 minute increments, stirring after each 2 minutes until browned.

Baked Brie with Brown Sugar and Almonds  Serves: 8-10

1 (8oz) round of Brie Cheese

½ cup sliced almonds

¼ cup brown sugar

Cut off and discard the top rind of the cheese. Place the cheese cut side up in a heat-proof serving dish. Mix the almonds and brown sugar in a bowl and sprinkle on top of the cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Serve with toasted baguette slices, sliced apples or crackers. Variation-you could also use 3 Tablespoons raspberry jam instead of the brown sugar. Spread the jam on the cheese and top with the almonds before baking.

Pesto Baked Brie with Sun-dried tomatoes Serves: 8-10

1 (8oz) round of Brie Cheese

1/3 cup prepared or homemade pesto

1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Cut off and discard the top rind of cheese. Place the cheese cut side up in a heat-proof serving dish. Spoon on the pesto and top with the sun-dried tomatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-12 minutes. Serve with toasted baguette slices, pita chips or crackers.

Happy Appetizing!! ;)

Kristen

Summer Eating- Part One

As the temperature rises, I want to be in the kitchen less. There are great seafood options in this post because they don't take long to cook. Also included are some summer sides that go with anything, especially things that come off the grill. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Grilled Fish Fillets with Chimichurri

6 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or red onion 

1 clove finely chopped garlic

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/8 tsp pepper divided

4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets, or try with salmon, tilapia, tuna, cod, steelhead trout or chicken

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. *Quick Tip- if you don't want to chop all the ingredients separately, put first 6 ingredients in a food processor and pulse until its incorporated; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
 2. Heat a grill pan, counter top grill or an outdoor grill over medium-high heat. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper over fish. Add fish to pan or grill; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with sauce.
3. Pour the leftover sauce into an ice cube tray and freeze. Use it later to top other fish, shrimp, chicken or even grilled beef.

"Go with anything in the Summer" Rice-
Cook 1 cup long-grain brown rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup thawed frozen whole-kernel corn, 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1/2 cup chopped zucchini to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until vegetables are charred. Stir in 1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes or diced tomato; sauté 1 minute or until tomatoes almost wilt. Combine vegetable mixture, rice, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

Open Faced Cajun Fish Sandwich
1 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's or other type of Cajun seasoning
4 (6oz) fish fillets- tilapia, catfish, halibut, cod, or any white fish
1 Tbs olive oil
1 bag pre-shredded coleslaw mix with dressing
4 thick slices French or Sourdough bread (or you can even do Texas Toast garlic bread ,YUM!)

1. Sprinkle fish fillets evenly with Tony Chachere's. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbs olive oil.
2. Cook fish fillets about 5-7 minutes per side depending on thickness. Fish will flake easily with a fork when done.
3. Meanwhile, stir the coleslaw and dressing together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. If using French bread, toast each piece. If using Texas Toast, cook according to package directions.
5. To serve, place a piece of toast on each dinner plate. Top with fish fillet and a scoop of coleslaw.

Salmon en Papillote
This may seem fancy, but it is sooo easy and tastes delicious. You're cooking fish in a paper pouch. Try different assortments of veggies too, like fennel, yellow squash, carrot, tomato, olives, capers...the options are endless. If you have it, pour a splash of white wine on top of fish before closing up.
1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly
1 zucchini, sliced very thinly
4 oz mushrooms sliced very thinly
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced very thinly
4 (4-6oz) salmon fillets (halibut or tilapia would work too)
1 lemon, sliced very thinly (you could also use 1 small orange)
salt and pepper
parchment paper (found next to foil at grocery store)

1. Preheat oven to 425. Take 4-15 by 36-inch pieces of parchment paper and fold in 1/2 like a book. Draw a large 1/2 heart on paper with fold of paper being the center of the heart. Cut out heart and open. Lay sliced vegetables on parchment in center to 1 side of fold. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Top each vegetable pile with 1 slice lemon first, then salmon fillet. Liberally salt and pepper each salmon fillet. Divide remaining lemon slices and place over the salmon to cover it.
3. Close each heart of parchment. Starting at the top of each heart, fold the edges over; overlapping each fold with the last to make a tight seal. When you get to the bottom point, fold under. Place each on a baking sheet.
4.  Bake 8 minutes for a fillet less than an inch thick, or 10 minutes for a thick fillet 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick. To serve, carefully transfer the package to a dinner plate and simply unfold or cut the parchment open. If you’d rather remove the package before eating, cut or tear the paper alongside the fillet, and slide the fish right onto the plate.


Crab Cakes were requested, but I haven't made any in years. Wouldn't remember what recipe I would have used anyway (two pregnancies later)! I found Food & Wine's best 3 crab cake recipes on the web. Check them out here. A secret for getting them to turn out just right is to combine all ingredients EXCEPT crab first. Then gently stir in the crab last. You want chunky crab meat too, as opposed to finely shredded, so there's good meaty bites in there.
Something that caught my eye when I was looking in my books for crab recipes was...
Crab Artichoke Dip courtesy of my Good Friends, Great Tastes cookbook
1 (14oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 cups Hellman's Real Mayonnaise
4 oz fresh lump crab meat
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup white onion, sliced paper thin
2 Tbs melted butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 fresh lemon
Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning

1. Squeeze out moisture from lump crab meat or if using canned, rinse and squeeze out moisture. Mix together first 5 ingredients.
2. Mix melted butter with the bread crumbs in a medium size bowl. Top the crab mixture with the bread crumbs and bake in a pie plate until bubbly (25-35 minutes) at 350 degrees.
3. Squeeze with lemon and sprinkle Tony Chachere's on top when done. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Summer Orzo Primavera courtesy Eat Clean Cookbook
Orzo is a delicious and versatile grain that isn't a grain at all. Orzo is a pasta formed in the shape of rice, but a little larger.
1 cup whole-wheat orzo, dry
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup frozen baby peas and/or edamame, thawed
1 small red pepper, diced small
1 Tbs chopped fresh dill or 3/4 tsp dried dill
2 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Stir in orzo and salt. Return to a boil and cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Grains should be tender but firm when done.
2. Drain and transfer to a colorful serving bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Chill 2 hours before serving.

Another Summer side...
Black Bean and Rice Salad
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs oil of your choice: avocado, canola, olive, grape seed, vegetable
1 1/2 cup corn kernels
1 1/2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium green zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 cloves garlic, minced fine or pushed through garlic press
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
pinch red pepper flakes
3 cups cooked brown rice
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl combine lemon juice and oil. This is the dressing
2. In large serving bowl combine all remaining ingredients. Toss lightly to distribute ingredients. Pour dressing over salad and toss again.

Roasted Garlic
as many full bulbs of garlic as you like
extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400. Using a sharp knife, cut off the pointed end of the garlic bulb, exposing the flesh. Remove the loose papery skins, but not all the skin. Arrange bulbs in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over each bulb. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until the bulbs appear soft and golden in color.
2. Remove from oven and turn bulbs over, cut side down. Bake 10 more minutes.
To use: Squeeze the garlic out of the skins into a bowl once the bulbs have cooled down.
You can use as a spread on bread instead of butter or instead of mayo on a sandwich.
Stir it into soups, guacamole, salsa, salad dressings, hummus, marinades, mashed potatoes...the possibilities are endless.

Rainbow Couscous (or rice, quinoa, pasta, orzo)
If you have never had couscous, you are missing out! Couscous is a teeny tiny pasta that cooks in 5 minutes and goes with everything. I buy the whole wheat kind, but they have plain and flavored varieties. Pick some up the next time you're in the pasta or rice aisle.
1 Tbs olive oil
1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, depending on your preference
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 small or baby eggplant, chopped
salt and pepper
2 cups cooked couscous, rice, quinoa, pasta or orzo

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Pour olive oil into pan along with bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently about 4 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies. Cook, stirring frequently about 5-8 more minutes, until veggies are tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Stir rainbow veggie mix into whatever cooked grain you have chosen. Feel free to omit or add any number of vegetables.

Not a seafood fan? My cousin Lindsay told me about this great summer dinner option Chicken-Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

Alfredo Giardino

I got the idea for this recipe in the Clean Eating Magazine Sept/Oct 2010 issue. I didn't have time to make my own sauce, hence the jarred version. I had leftover cooked chicken breasts that I sliced and put on top, but you could go meatless or add cooked shrimp.

Alfredo Giardino (Garden Alfredo) Serves 4
8 oz fettuccine noodles
1 Tbs olive oil
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen green beans
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 cup jarred Alfredo sauce (i used HEB four cheese Alfredo)
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

While the noodles are boiling, heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the oil. Cook the veggies in the oil, stirring frequently, until veggies are tender; about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.


Cooking the Veggies












Toss with 8 oz cooked fettuccine and 1 cup sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.


Sauced up!












*Just a note- please do NOT make fun of my food photography. I am not a photographer!! I will try and improve though ;)