Stuffed Baby Peppers

Evan and I went to this amazing grocery store, Woodmans! This place has the best deals and their produce lasts a long time, which I love!!! I found these mini peppers in the produce section and I just had to buy them. I had seen Giada make stuffed mini peppers a long time ago on one of her shows so I thought I would do that! Let me tell you this recipe was so easy and these peppers are incredible!!!!

Stuffed Mini Peppers
by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 24 (2 to 3-inch long) sweet baby peppers

Directions:

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until brown and crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and drain on paper towels. Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the onion, pancetta, cheeses, and peas. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Using a paring knife, cut 1/2-inch from the stem-end of the peppers. Remove the seeds and veins. Using a small dessert spoon, fill each pepper with the ricotta mixture. Place the filled peppers on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the peppers begin to soften. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.

I'm Still Alive!

I have not posted anything for some time now...but I have been cooking! I have a few recipes to fill you in on and I hope you enjoy all of them!

The first recipe I want to tell you about is an Asian Chicken Wrap. I made this for my mom a few weeks ago for lunch. It was difficult to pick something to make for her...she is kind of picky with her food choices. But I came across this recipe in Ellie Krieger's cook book. The best part about this wrap was that I had almost everything on hand...except for the Napa cabbage leaves.

Asian Chicken Wrap
by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients for the sauce:
3 tablespoons plain Greek-style nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Thai-style chili sauce (I used Sriracha)

Ingredients for the wrap:
6 Napa cabbage leaves (remove center ribs)
2 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup cooked chicken breast
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

Directions:
- To make the sauce combine all ingredients and stir until well blended. The sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- To make the wrap place 2 cabbage leaves on the tortilla, then layer with half the chicken and half the sliced peppers. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the sauce. Top with an additional cabbage leaf. Fold over one side and roll up. Ready to serve!
- I also added watermelon on the side as an extra treat :)

This next recipe I made because of my love for Buddy Valastro. My cousin Kim sent me a recipe for Buddy's "Perfect Pot Roast." I have an amazing pot roast recipe but I thought I would try this one to change it up a bit. I did alter his recipe a tad. For those of you who don't know....my boyfriend is a hunter. Which means my freezer is filled all year long with venison. I am not a big fan of the venison meat, although I do love the stuff he gets made into beef jerky. When I got this pot roast recipe I thought it was a good opportunity to use up some of the venison that is taking over my life. Like I said I don't like venison, so I did not taste the meat, I picked around it and ate everything else. But Evan said it was amazing and can't wait for me to make it again. "Woooohoooo" to finding some way to get rid of that meat in my freezer :)

Perfect Pot Roast
by Buddy Valastro (Kitchen Boss)

Ingredients
2-3 pounds boneless chuck roast (or venison)
1/2 pound pancetta, cut into 1/4 in cubes
4 peeled and smashed garlic cloves
1 medium Spanish onion, peeled and sliced lengthwise
1 large stalk of celery cut into 1 inch chunks
1 bunch tender carrots peeled and halved widthwise and then lengthwise
2 cups dry red Italian wine (I used Chianti)
1 cup unsalted chicken stock, beef stock, or water (I used beef stock for the extra flavor)
1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
A pinch of sugar
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 spring rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
Salt and pepper
Neutral Oil
Egg noddles to serve with roast (I used mashed potatoes because that is what I had in the house)

Directions:
- Ahead of time, salt the roast on all sides, wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight. Bring meat to room temperature before proceeding.

- Preheat oven to 300. In a 6 quart lidded braising vessel, heat pot to medium-high. Swirl a couple of tablespoons of neutral oil in the pan and heat until shimmering. Sear the beef on all sides, turning with tongs until well-browned on all sides. Remove beef and set aside.

- Add the pancetta, onion, celery and garlic cloves with a pinch of salt and saute until vegetables soften. Add the wine, stock, tomatoes, pinch of sugar, pinch of salt, some grindings of pepper and the vinegar. Bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of the pot into the sauce. Simmer high for a couple of minutes until liquid reduces almost by half. Snuggle the meat back into the pot with the rosemary and parsley, the liquid should come at least halfway up the sides of the roast, add more if needed. Bring to a boil, put the lid on the pot and place in the oven to roast for one hour.

1. After one hour, turn the meat over and replace the lid. Continue to roast another hour. At the two hour mark, turn the roast again and add the carrots, submerging in the pot liquid. Cover and roast an additional 30 to 45 minutes. The roast is done when it is fork tender.
2. Remove the meat and carrots to a platter. Return pot to the burner and on high, stirring, reduce until pot liquid reduces to desired consistency. Check seasoning. Stir in fresh parsley.
3. Serve roast sliced with pot gravy and carrots.

The last recipe for my "catch up" post is my favorite of all. I can't wait to make it again. It is Ellie Krieger's Asian Noodle Bowl. I was so excited about this recipe because I love Asian food, but whenever I order Chinese food I always have the worst stomach pains after, so when I saw this recipe I was pumped, especially because it was with Soba Noodles instead of rice. Ellie Krieger has become one of my favorite chefs because of her healthy alternatives. She definitely proves that healthy food doesn't need to be flavor-less!

Asian Noodle Bowl

by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

8 ounces Soba noodles or whole-wheat spaghetti

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 bunch scallions (white and green parts), sliced. 1/4 cup reserved for garnish

1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced (I used shrimp because I had it on hand)

1 15-ounce can baby corn, drained (I had a hard time finding these but they were located in the Asian foods section of the store.

1/2 pound broccoli florets (about 3 cups)

1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Directions:

- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles or pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

- Heat the canola oil in a wok or very large skillet over medium heat. Add the scallions and ginger and cook stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 4-5 minutes. Add the baby corn, broccoli, mushrooms, pepper slices, broth, and soy sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender and the peppers are crisp and tender, 5-6 minutes. Add the noodles and sesame oil and toss to combine. Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with the reserved 1/4 cup of scallions.

Hope you try some of these new recipes...I promise I won't wait another month to make a post!