Stuffed Pepper Casserole

My family is huge on stuffed peppers, and it was always such a treat to have stuffed peppers for dinner.  I never realized why we never had stuffed peppers a lot, but when I started to  cook I realized why... because they are a huge pain to make.  A month ago my mom and I had one of our freezer cooking sessions, and we made stuffed pepper soup.  It was so delicious and tasted just like a stuffed pepper (but without all the hard work.)  I got to thinking... there had to be a recipe out there for stuffed pepper casserole.  I searched Pinterest and sure enough I found a recipe from A Kitchen Addiction.  I adapted the recipe just a little, and I made it last night for dinner, and everyone agreed it was definitely a keeper.  It tasted exactly like a stuffed pepper, but with half the work and half the mess!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 medium green peppers (chopped)
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 teaspoons of sugar (I like my sauce on the sweeter side, you don't have to add sugar though)
• 2 cups of brown rice (cooked)
• 1 24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Francisco Rinaldi Garlic and Basil flavoring)
• 1.5 cups of mozzarella cheese 

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook your ground beef in a large pan until browned, drain your meat
3. Place your ground beef back in pan and add your green peppers, onion powder, and garlic.
4. Cook on medium-low heat until your peppers are tender.

1. In an 8x8 casserole dish, stir together your rice, spaghetti sauce, and 3/4 cup of cheese.
2. Add your beef mixture  to the sauce and stir until everything is well combined.
3. Top with remaining cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

1. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
2. Enjoy!

Final Product

Herb Crusted Chicken in a Basil Cream Sauce

I need to just start this off with saying NEW FAVORITE CHICKEN RECIPE.  This chicken was so delicious, there were 4 people for dinner and everyone said it was a dish you would get at olive garden, or a similar restaurant.  I loved the sauce because while it was creamy it was to thick or heavy where you felt really full.  I will be making this again without a doubt.  This was for 4 people like I said, you will have extra sauce but we served it over rice!  Got this recipe from this amazing blog Hope and John.

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN

• 4 chicken breasts (pounded to the same thickness)
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 cup of Italian bread crumbs
• 4 teaspoons of roasted garlic and pepper seasoning
• 2 teaspoons of dried chives
• 6 tablespoons of butter 

FOR THE SAUCE

• 6 garlic cloves (minced)
•  1 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2  of 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning 
• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 3.5 tablespoons of dried basil
• Rice or pasta to serve your chicken over

Ingredients

1.  Place your bread crumbs, garlic seasoning and chives in a small bowl and mix together.
2. Place  your milk in a separate  bowl.
3. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat, continue to cook till melted.
4. First dip your chicken in the milk, then dip in the bread crumb mixture (make sure chicken is completely coated.)
5. Cook chicken in butter, about 5 minutes on each side.  Once 10 minutes is up cut the chicken to make sure chicken is cooked completely through.
6. In the same skillet, add  your garlic and cook for 1 minute. 
7. Add  your chicken broth and bring to a boil, make sure to get the browned pieces off the bottom of the skillet.
8. Stir in your heavy whipping cream and tomatoes, and bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute.
9. Reduce  the heat to low and add  your  cheese and basil, stir the sauce and cook unti thickened. (about 3-5 minutes)
10. Serve by placing your rice or pasta on the plate.  Place your chicken on top of rice and pour your  sauce over the chicken 

 Final Product

Spicy Sausage Pasta

I know it has been a long time since I last posted.  I have so many recipes I need to add!  This recipe was something I have been dying to try and couldn't wait to make.  It is so simple, and tastes great.  I really liked that I didn't have to boil the pasta, it was all done in the skillet (who doesn't love one dish meals.) 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 14 oz package of Jalapeno and cheese sausage (cut into bite size pieces)
• 1 small onion diced
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1/2 cup of whole milk
• 2.5 cups of penne pasta
• 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
• 1.5 cups of shredded monterery jack cheese

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat your oil and add your sausage and onions.
2. Cook for about 7-10 minutes or until onions are tender.
3. Add your garlic and cook for another minute.
4. Add your broth, diced tomatoes, milk, uncooked pasta and garlic sit and bring to a boil.
5. Once boiling reduce your heat, cover the mixture and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until pasta is tender
6. Add your cheese and mix until cheese is melted in.
7. Serve!

Final Product.

Recipe adapted from:Bitchin Kitchin

Easiest Hummus Ever!

I know I am on a chickpea kick, but I just love them!  I absolutely love hummus, but I don't want to spend 5 dollars on a container.  I have been trying to make hummus that does not have tahini in it, and I finally made a recipe (thanks to my mom)  This tasted delicious, and was so easy to make and so much cheaper!

Ingredients

• 14.5 oz can of chickpeas (drained)
• 1/4 cup of oil
• 1/2 tablespoon of cumin
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)

Directions

1. Place your drained chickpeas into a food processor (or blender)
2. Add the rest of your ingredients and blend until smooth
3. I used the chop and grind button on my food processor and it took about 2 minutes till it was the perfect texture.

Final Product

Oven Baked Breaded Beer Drumsticks

The other night I was craving some chicken I just did not know what kind I wanted.  I only had chicken legs in the freezer so I knew I wanted to do some sort of breaded chicken.  While I was thinking about what to make, I though of this chicken that I used to make when I started cooking.  It was a seasoning that came in a packet and you poured it over your chicken and let your chicken marinate for an hour or so.  I decided to try something like that of my own, and it turned out really good.  I would say if you do have chicken breasts I would use those, but that's probably just because I like chicken breasts more then chicken legs.

Ingredients

• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 1 bottle of beer 
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tablespoon of basil
• 1 cup of Italian breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large freezer bag (or really big bowl) place your chicken.
3. Add your beer to the chicken, and all of your seasonings.
4. Shake the bag until your chicken is coated, and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
5. In a medium sized bowl add your breadcrumbs.
6. Place one drumstick at a time into your breadcrumbs until fully coated.
7. Place chicken on a cookie sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink (I don't have a thermometer so I cut my biggest drumstick to make sure it was cooked through(
8. Serve.  (I served with garlic mashed potatoes and Steamfresh Teryaki vegetables)

Final Product

Scalloped Potatoes in the Crockpot

Sunday was one of the first Sundays I had off with absolutely nothing to do, and I was planning on making meatloaf and wanted a good side with it, that also didn't take a lot of time.  I remembered my mom making scalloped potatoes in the crock pot and I decided to give it a try.  These potatoes turned out delicious, they were the perfect texture and the flavor was amazing.  My house also smelled delicious while they cooked! Here is the link from the blog I got the idea from Six Sisters.

Ingredients

• 2-3 pound of red potatoes (about 8-12 potatoes) I left the skin on mine but you can peel them if you would like.
• 1 14.5 oz can of cream of potato soup
• 1.5 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• 2 cups of shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of low fat sour cream
• Chives for topping

Directions

1. Slice your potatoes, make sure you slice them pretty thin.
2. Once they are sliced add them to your crock pot.
3. Add the rest of your ingredients and mix very well till all of your potatoes are coated
4. Place on low for 6-7 hours or until potatoes are soft. ( I checked mine at 6 and they needed some more time, they were perfect by 7 hours.)
5. I topped mine with some freeze dried chives, and some more paprika.

Final Product

Chickpea Salad

I am such a big fan of chickpeas, especially on my salad.  I saw a recipe a while ago for chickpea salad, and I have been dying to try it.  I made this the other night and bought it for lunch, and it was so filling.  The recipe I found orginally called for a lot of things I didnt like so I just made it up.   I will be making this again without a doubt, and it would be the perfect summer salad.

Ingredients

• 1 14.5 oz can of chickpeas (drained)
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with basil (drained VERY WELL)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1.5 tablespoons of basil
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of apple cider vineagar
• 1.5 teaspoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions

1.  Rinse and drain chickpeas very well.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, drained diced tomatos, onions, and herbs. 
3. In a another bowl, mix your garlic and salt. Whisk in the lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, sugar and olive oil.
4. Pour the dressing into the chickpeas and vegetables and mix very well coating all of the chickpeas
5. Place in fridge for AT LEAST an hour, I have to say it was so much better cold then warm, so the longer in the fridge better!

Final Product