Recipe: Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers (with creamy tomato-basil sauce)

I literally just chewed the last bite of this on-the-fly supper and I couldn't wait to share.  This is another one of those "clean the pantry" dinners that took about 2 minutes to create and 20 minutes to cook.  Perfect for a Monday night meal that's filling but not fussy.  I kid you not when I say a legit threw things in a pan and hoped for the best...that being said, eyeball all measurements!

EVOO
2 whole peppers, cored and sliced at the top

1 lb. ground turkey, beef, or (in tonight's case), chicken

1 onion, chopped

garlic powder

red pepper flakes

Italian seasoning

4-5 basil leaves, chopped

1 cup rice (any kind will do...i used jasmine), cooked according to package - sort of.  see note below!

1/2 marinara sauce and 1/2 Alfredo sauce, combined (OR just use vodka sauce and the work is done for you)

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the tops off the peppers, and the bottoms too so that the pepper stands flat.  Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil and put the peppers on there, tops included. Cook empty peppers about 5 minutes just to give them a head start. 

In a pot, boil rice and cook about 3 minutes less than package suggests (the rice will continue to cook in the next step).

In a saucepan, heat EVOO and add onions.  Cook until transparent.  Add ground meat and spices and cook until brown.  Drain fat and transfer back to pan.  Add rice to meat mixture, as well as basil and sauce combo.  Mix well to coat.  NOTE: You want a pretty 'moist' (worst word ever but totally necessary here) mixture because once it goes in the oven, you don't want it to dry out.  If you need more sauce, add accordingly.

Take peppers out of the oven and spoon meat/rice mix into each.  Place tops on peppers and stick them back in the oven for 8-10 minutes.  Then, for 5 minutes, switch to the broiler (on low) to char the peppers.

Enjoy, folks!  PS- tell me how you like this! comment button below :)

Recipe: Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce

I took a much-needed and well-deserved day off today and headed to the grocery store to get cookin'.  Now that it's getting colder and I'm getting lazier, I am HIGHLY relying on my biffle, the CrockPot,to get me through the fall and winter. 

This recipe is actually borrowed from AllRecipes.com.  I was in the supermarket and the pork tenderloin was on sale and lookin' good, so I immediately used my AR app on my phone to plug in "pork", "slow cooker" and "main dish".  I had all of the other ingredients at home so this worked perfectly! Here's what you need:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed
2 1/2 pounds whole pork tenderloins
salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1 onion, chopped
1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup sour cream

 I have only recently started eating pork again after years of shunning 'the other white meat' (except for bacon...which is in its own food group...i mean really).  But i really like boneless pork tenderloin because they're fairly lean and can easily be substituted in a ton of chicken recipes when chicken gets boring.  Start with thin, boneless pork cutlets if you're easing back into pork.  It'll still take me a while to eat a pork chop.

Season pork with S&P and garlic powder.  Add EVOO to skillet and turn to medium heat.  Once hot, sear pork on each side until browned, 5-6 minutes per side.  *THE PORK WILL NOT BE COMPLETELY COOKED THROUGH - but that's OK because it will be in the Crock for 8 hours :)

Once pork is browned, remove from pan.  Add mushrooms and garlic to pan and cook until softened.  Meanwhile, add white wine to your slow cooker, adding mushrooms and onions when cooked.  Place pork on top of onion and mushroom mixture.

In a small bowl, combine mustard, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream.  Mix well and pour on top of pork, completely covering.  Cover the Crock and heat on low 7-8 hours.  

OK, so admittedly not the prettiest meal.  But it tastes SOOOO good! The tenderloin shreds like a pulled pork and the sauce is creamy and delish served over rice.  I'd add a little salt about an hour left in the cooking cycle and maybe a splash of hot sauce to garnish...but otherwise, perfection and SO EASY! 

Recipe: Coconut Shrimp & Pineapple Salsa with Jasmine Rice

I was in the mood for seafood last night and wanted to try a new recipe.  My fiance has been working like a dog 7 days a week so as a treat for him I decided to attempt coconut shrimp, one of his favorites.  I managed to whip up a great healthy alternative to the deep-fried classic by simply baking these instead.  Try this recipe soon for a vacation from the average shrimp cocktail! One note: all measurement in this recipe were the "eyeball" method :)

COCONUT SHRIMP
3/4-1 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
panko style breadcrumbs
all-purpose flour
sweetened shredded coconut
2-3 egg whites, whisked until frothy



PINEAPPLE SALSA

fresh pineapple,finely chopped
cilantro, chopped
red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
salt and pepper
fresh lime juice


JASMINE RICE
1 c. rice
1 3/4 c. water



Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  For rice, boil water.


Set up a "conveyor belt" setup with one bowl of egg whites, one bowl of all purpose flour, and one bowl of combined panko breadcrumbs and coconut.  Make sure shrimp are not too wet when you begin.  First dredge shrimp in flour, shaking off any excess.  Then dip in egg white, then the breadcrumb mixture.  Repeat with all shrimp and place on sprayed baking sheet.  

Panko Mixture

Bake for 15-20, flipping shrimp once halfway through for even browning.

While shrimp are baking, add rice to water and simmer on low, covered, for 15 minutes.

For salsa, combine all ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.

 YUMMY!

Close-up of the Pineapple Salsa! Gorgeous summer colors :)

The final product! SO happy with the results!

Serve shrimp over Jasmine rice with salsa.  For a dipping sauce, try mixing equal parts pineapple preserves and orange marmalade.