Stuffed Peppers

Before today, I was not a stuffed pepper fan. I have not had them in a very long time and I am guessing the ones I had tasted in the past were very substandard. I came across a recipe the other day that had me intrigued, so I decided it was worth a shot! I have to say, I am so glad I decided to try it.

Yummy looking, right? After I took these pictures I decided to add avocado, fresh basil, and a few slices of fresh cherry tomatoes as garnish (I wished I had thought about this before my food photo shoot!) If you make these, I would highly recommend adding all 3 things (especially the avocado and basil) for an extra pop of fresh flavors!

Stuffed Peppers
(Print Recipe)
Adapted from FatFree Vegan

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 large portabello mushroom, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced (or more to taste)
1 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 1/2 cups fresh corn (from 2 corn cobs)
1 15-ounce can can fire-roasted tomatoes

1 medium fresh tomato, diced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (or more, to taste)
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dry basmati rice, cooked according to package direction

5 red, orange, or yellow bell peppers
1 avocado, diced

fresh basil and sliced fresh cherry tomatoes for garnish

Instructions
Heat a large non-stick skillet or saucepan. Add the onion and cook, stirring often until it softens, about 4 minutes. (Add a splash of water as necessary to prevent sticking.) Add the mushrooms and jalapeno and continue to cook until mushrooms soften.
Add black beans, corn, tomatoes (canned and fresh), rice, and seasonings. Cook for a few more minutes to allow most of the tomato liquid to cook off.
Preheat oven to 400F.
While the chili is cooking, prepare the peppers by cutting them in half through the stem end, removing the seeds and membranes, and rinsing the insides to make sure all the seeds are out. Check to see if they will stand upright, and if not, peel a strip off of the back side. Oil a baking dish big enough for the peppers (or line it with parchment paper). Fill each pepper half with the chili and place it in the baking dish. Bake until peppers are tender, about 25 minutes.
Sprinkle each pepper with avocado, fresh basil, a few slices of cherry tomatoes and serve hot.

Oh so tasty! If you are not a mushroom fan, I truly think you will still like these- you can't even tell they are in there, but they add some nutrients and bulk to the dish!

I just had to share this photo collage from a dog birthday party we attended last night. Such cute pups! Can you tell which one is the birthday girl? (Hint: She's dressed for the occasion).

It was super hot out, but the dogs had plenty of water to dink and some doggie daiquiris (non alcoholic, of course). Look at these YUMMY doughnuts the birthday girl's mom made (recipe here)- These were treats for people, not dogs.

Who doesn't love a good puppy party, with homemade doughnuts?

Nate and I still have more and more tomatoes ready in our garden every day- I used some of them for the stuffed peppers but still need to use up more! I noticed this today when I went out to the garden... at one point it was a pot of soil. This weed decided to take over, but I think it is kinda pretty.

Even if you don't think you are a stuffed pepper fan, these deserve a chance! They will definitely be going into my menu rotation- especially while all these fresh veggies are in season. I am guessing they could be done on the grill too (medium heat, on foil, cover closed)- which would be a great way to keep your kitchen cool in this summer heat!

Happy cooking!

Quinoa Burgers and Succotash

This is a great summer dinner!

The quinoa burger was inspired by my favorite place to get lunch in Charlotte, Luna's Living Kitchen. Disclaimer: My burger IS NOT the same as theirs... but it is still pretty good. Luna's has a quinoa kamut burger that is honestly the best tasting veggie burger I have EVER had. If you have never been to Luna's, I would highly recommend it. We love going to Atherton Mill and Market on Saturdays and as an occasional treat, we stop by Luna's for lunch afterwards. We brought Nate's parents there when they were here visiting- I was thrilled when his dad got the Mystical Mushroom Spaghetti and a smoothie, and said it was one of the best meals he had ever had! We also shared their banana soft serve, which was to die for! I love that all their menu items are healthy and delicious at the same time. 

I need to experiment with adding kamut to my burger recipe, so far I have just tried using quinoa. This is one of those recipes that is now in regular rotation on our menus. It is super cheap and healthy! 

Quinoa Burger

(Print Recipe)

Adapted from Whole Living.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rinsed quinoa

1 medium carrot, cut in large chunks

15 ounces white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

1 flax egg (1 TBSP ground flaxseeds, mixed with 3 TBSP water)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

Coarse salt

Ground pepper

Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil; add quiona, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes; set aside.

In a food processor, pulse carrot until finely chopped. Add cooked quinoa, beans, breadcrumbs, flax egg, cumin, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pulse until combined but still slightly chunky.

Form mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick paties (dip hands in water to prevent sticking). If too soft, refrigerate 10 minutes to firm. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium; cook burgers until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

Serve one a slice of whole wheat bread and top with avocado.

Succotash is a new discovery for me. I love the fresh tasting combination of basil, tomatoes, lima beans, and fresh corn.

Succotash

(Print Recipe)

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon safflower oil
• Coarse salt
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 cups chopped red tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 1/4 cups corn kernels cut from 4 ears of corn
• 2 cups fresh lima beans (from about 2 pounds pods) or 10 to 11 ounces frozen lima beans or baby butter beans, thawed
• 4 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, corn, and lima beans. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until corn and lima beans are tender and tomatoes are soft, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in basil and serve.

After dinner, I planted new herbs in my herb garden. We had started some from seeds earlier this spring. However, I found a lost dog, who I brought home until we found his owners. This was what he decided would be the most comfortable bed.

Yes, that is my herb garden planter. At first I got him out immediately, but he kept going back there, so I decided to let him have his comfortable bed. Nate had fun playing with him... He had a TON of energy! Look at his legs all tangled up here.

For those of you that know Lilly, you know she was not a happy camper when I brought this dog home! She barked and chased it outside every time it came in through the back door! It is funny to see a little ten pound dog show a much bigger dog, that SHE is in charge. 

Anyway, we did get him safely home, and now here are my new herbs.

I planted lemon thyme, basil, and cilantro. I can't wait to use my cilantro for wheat berry salad, and the basil for succotash.

Lilly helped.

And then I fed her a little bit of almond butter as a treat. She loves it :)

I'm hoping for some nicer weather soon, so we can spend some time outside and have a photo shoot of something interesting and pretty! My eyes will be peeled and my camera in hand. Meanwhile, I am going to enjoy being lazy during these rainy days.

Hummingbirds, Smoothies, and Gardens

So I have been wanting to post a new blog since yesterday, but if you can believe it, Blogger was DOWN! The read only version was the only thing available. Anyway, I was excited to see that it is back up now so I can post again.

Last night around 8:15 I decided to take a few pictures. (There was barely enough light to photograph anything... and not enough light to have any photo considered high quality. Even with my limited photography skills/knowledge I know I am not a fan of flash photography... at least not my flash photography, so I refuse to ever use my flash.) That turned into a long side note. Anyway, last night I was taking pictures of Nate's potted garden that he finally put up on the table he built.

I can't wait to have fresh veggies from our tiny garden this summer. Now a few plant memories.

How they have grown! I love this last one, with one plant leaning toward the other. I think they are companions.

After I finished taking garden photos, I decided to take a picture of our lonely hummingbird feeder, with not a single hummingbird to be found. Before I could even snap the first photo, look what appeared!

Things that were running through my mind: I love hummingbirds! How cool that it just appeared- perfect timing. Oh, how I wish I had good lighting so these pictures would come out clear! I love hummingbirds. Look how cute he (or she... I don't know how to tell, does anyone else know?) is!

I hope one of these days to get some better pictures. If I do, I will be sure to share them! They are such feisty little creatures and they have always intrigued me.

Now for my favorite smoothie recipe, just because it seems to go along well with hummingbirds and gardens. And I'm drinking one right now as I type this.

This is a simple strawberry blueberry smoothie.

You need basic ingredients:

1 frozen banana (cut it into pieces before you freeze it, for easier blending)

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1 and 1/4 cup almond milk

Optional: 1 scoop of stevia (I love adding a dash of all natural, guilt free sweetness, whenever possible)

Blend until smooth and savor every moment of this fruity bliss.

This is perfect for a hot summer day! Sometimes I have it for breakfast, sometimes dessert, and sometimes as a snack. I might be a little obsessed with it. It would work with any type of frozen berries you desire- I think the frozen banana is key though. It really adds the right consistency to the smoothie. (Note: This makes a very large smoothie... definitely big enough to share with a friend, if you can part with half of it).

Enough blogging for now. I'm going to finish my smoothie, try to peel myself away from hummingbird watch, and go do something fun. It is Friday night after all.