Southwest Stuffed Peppers

I am a huge fan of stuffed peppers. I love bell peppers, and get to eat them with some cheese and salsa? SOLD. 

I came across this recipe in Real Simple -- and that it was. We took an extra step of grinding the meat ourselves (but I'm ridiculous and you don't need to do that). We opted for sirloin versus ground chuck, brown rice instead of white rice, and did straight Greek yogurt (and didn't thin it out with water). Delish.

Cooking the meat and rice

Fresh out of the oven!

So colorful!

We had lots of leftovers by making four peppers. Paul thought it could have been a little spicier, but I liked it as it was. We buy medium salsa, so that on top helped add a little heat to the dish. You could mix up the ingredients inside the peppers -- black beans instead of ground meat, Spanish rice instead of brown or white, jalepenos instead of green chiles, or chihuahua cheese on top -- the possibilities are endless!

Enjoy!

Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

Probably more fries than one should have, but oh well.

Last week, I totally picked out a meal I have been craving: turkey burgers and sweet potato fries. Maybe it's because it's been warm outside, but I am itching for some summer foods. Turkey burgers on the grill it is. 

I looked for pretzel rolls, as they are my absolutely fave, but they were out at the grocery store. We substituted some onion rolls (toasted, clearly) and topped the turkey burgers with some avocado and a little chipotle mayo. Even after a snafu with the grill (running out of propane), they were just what I was looking for! 

I have been wanting to try these sweet potato fries for a while. I don't mind making something similar on my own (i.e. peeling and cutting a sweet potato and roasting it in the oven), but I never could seem to get the crispiness right.  I picked them up at the store, and am totally hooked. We got the chipotle spiced ones, which are crispy, delicious and spicy! And at 4 grams of fat per serving (and no trans fats) they aren't the worst thing in the world for you. 

Now that we're back in business with a fresh propane tank, let's get ready for some summer grilling!
 
P.S. AND they have sweet potato tater tots! i think my life is complete.

Salmon with Curried Fennel-Wine Sauce

Yummy!

I am so excited to share this recipe with everyone -- it was easy to make and a total hit! We used salmon filets instead of steaks, but kept everything else the same. You get a soft curry flavor with the sauce and a nice crunch from the fennel and scallions. I've never cooked fennel this way (browning), but I'm now a fan!

My only suggestion would be to cook the salmon a little longer than the recipe suggests. Four minutes in the broiler didn't cook the salmon as much as I liked, so I ended up nuking it in the microwave to cook it completely through (as did Paul, which meant it was really a little raw, and not just me). Other than that, I thought the recipe was absolutely perfect. We served it with a side of kale and leeks, sauteed with a little olive oil over the stove, which worked really well alongside the salmon. Enjoy!

Ahi Tuna

We're all into being brave and trying/cooking new foods at home. We picked up some ahi tuna at the fish market last week, and went for it. 

We wanted to do a blackened seasoning, so we ground up and mixed a bunch of spices we had at home. It was a combination of coriander, black pepper, salt, paprika and cayenne pepper (I think modeled off of this recipe).

Do not adjust your television set. I buy the biggest pieces of tuna ever.

The tuna was seared in frying pan at medium high heat (with a little vegetable oil in the pan) for just a couple minutes on each side. Paul topped it with a soy sauce/rice ginger/mustard sauce combo he whipped up.

Delish.

I had Paul cook mine a little longer, as I like mine a little less rare. He cooked mine for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, and it came out great (it was a pretty thick piece). It was really tasty -- and enough left over from my piece to have for lunch the next day. Super simple to make, and something totally different for us. You could easily mix up the spices and the sauces to give it a different flavor (for example, adding citrus and making an avocado/fruit salsa to go on top; going with more of an Indian spice using cumin and coriander, etc. )

Wild Boar with Celery Root and Onions

Paul and I had attended a fun event back in January for Artizone, which is a company that delivers artisan products from local shops directly to your front door. We got really excited about the opportunity to order some interesting food from the options available within the different partner markets. Feeling brave, we ordered a rack of boar (among some other interesting items). I really like boar ragu, so figured this would also be delicious. 

We found a recipe online that looked interesting, calling for us to brine the rack overnight, and then serve the cooked meat with celery root (celeriac) and caramelized onions. We made the brine liquid suggested and let it sit overnight.

Boar rack covered in the herb paste

I am now a fan of celery root. It's a little gnarly looking, but it's pretty tasty. I peeled the outer layer (trimming where needed) and then used the mandoline to slice it into thin pieces. 

Cooking the slices of celery root in some melted butter. Yum!

I would note that this recipe doesn't give a cooking time for the oven, and that's sort of a problem. We cooked it as suggested -- browning on the stove, then in the oven -- with an oven-safe thermometer inserted. The thermometer began reading that the rack was at the right temperature (I think we based this on a beef temperature, but went towards the high/well-done end), but it was definitely not. I like rare meat, but it was cold-raw. 

We ended up cutting the rack into smaller pieces and continuing to cook the pieces in the oven until they were more thoroughly cooked. I think it took an hour to an hour and a half total to get everything cooked through to where I wasn't scared to eat it.

The meat atop the celery root and onion mixture.

We each had two chops, which was definitely enough meat. I thought it was a little salty for my taste (probably from the brining), but Paul liked it. The celery root and onion were really great -- and the sweetness went well with the saltiness of the meat. The herb crust was really tasty and aromatic, so I would definitely make that again for other types of meat.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

I stole this photo from Food Network, as I forgot to take my own. My dishware isn't this rustic, nor my nails that nice. 

Ina Garten's Linguine with Shrimp Scampi is one of my easy go-to recipes for a speedy, tasty dinner. I try to keep frozen, raw shrimp on hand for situations like this. As noted on the most recent season of Top Chef (aka "Shrimpgate"), chefs say to avoid pre-cooked shrimp. It's easy to overcook and become chewy. I usually buy raw, deveined, easy-peel shrimp. Raw shrimp cook quickly (about 5 minutes in this recipe), and for those of us who are not good at planning ahead, you can defrost frozen shrimp easily by immersing them in some cool water for about 20 minutes. You do need to then peel them, but it's pretty quick and easy to do once defrosted.

I go off of Ina's recipe, but usually don't follow it exactly. I tend to use only about 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 to 1 1/2 of olive oil when making the sauce. I usually zest the lemon, and squeeze in lemon juice, but don't always use lemon slices. And I almost always forget about parsley (unless I luck out and it's laying around the house). All of those ingredients (more butter and olive oil, including the lemon slices or parsley, etc.) do add a stronger flavor -- but I think it's pretty tasty even without them!

It is fast to whip up with ingredients you have in the house already, and makes for a tasty and fresh dinner. Pasta is always a fave of mine (and Paul's), and doing something different than a marinara sauce kind of mixes it up a bit. Some lemony pasta with a green salad works well in the summer -- or during this warm spell we're having in spring! Enjoy!

Collard Green Phyllo Triangles

Left with a single pear and some collard greens, I whipped up some collard green phyllo triangles. I used this recipe, which was pretty easy. The only thing that can be a little challenging is that the phyllo dough can dry out really quickly when you're making the triangles. And you have to plan enough ahead of time to thaw the phyllo dough. 

Chopping the greens and shallot

Cooking the collard mixture with some olive oil and garlic

Assembling the triangles, with the collard mixture and a slice of pear on top

Ready for the oven!

Crispy and ready to eat!

We had these as a tasty little appetizer before dinner. The collards can be a little intense, so you could lighten them up with more pear or use a different green like spinach and change the flavor up a little. The recipe also suggests blending in a little tofu, so I imagine a soft, mild cheese would also work.