Tag: Lunch
Vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Maybe it’s just me, but do you ever go through phases of food obsession? I mean, some food obsessions are an unchanging given, like chocolate. But others seem to come and go. My current fan favorite is red peppers. Perhaps you could tell, seeing as how this is the third recipe in two months on the blog to include red peppers. The passing fancy of my own food phases makes me think of here-today, gone-tomorrow food trends I’ve seen throughout my lifetime. Maybe today’s kale and quinoa–or in my case, red peppers–are tomorrow’s pop rocks and 1-2-3 Jell-O. (Remember 1-2-3 Jell-O? Why did that have to die? ’80s kids, let’s get a petition going!)
The fact is, unlike the processed mystery that is 1-2-3 Jell-O, I’m new to the crunchy crimson veggie wonder that is red peppers. Up until the last couple of years, I ate red peppers only under social pressure, and even then would prod them around my plate like a picky toddler. I had the sneaking suspicion that people who claimed to enjoy bell peppers were trying to play a vile joke on the rest of us. But somehow–probably as a result of learning in my nutrition studies how fantastically healthy peppers are for you–I have gradually come around. It’s amazing how our mentality can change our feelings about food, isn’t it? (I draw the line, however, at mushrooms. Mushrooms are an eternal abomination.) Having developed a taste for red peppers, though, I’m now all over the map trying them in various combinations and permutations.
It was inevitable, then, that stuffed peppers would make their way into our family’s meal rotation.
This version of the classic is 100% vegetarian with a hefty dose of black beans, rice, corn, and tomatoes and a not-too-spicy Mexican flair. The rice and bean filling is delicious all on its own, but stuffing it in a tangy red pepper dripping with sharp cheddar takes it over the top. My husband–a more experienced stuffed pepper eater–says that most stuffed peppers have a softer texture than this recipe, but I for one enjoyed the not-too-squishy crunch that these peppers retained by not baking for too long. These made for a satisfying vegetarian dinner I know I’ll make again.
So how about you? Do you have a current food obsession, or a food you used to hate but have come to love? Tell me all about it!
Vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Peppers
A healthy vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe with a Mexican flair!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 c. long-grain rice
- 1 1/4 c. vegetable broth (or water)
- 15 oz. can fire-roasted salsa-style diced tomatoes
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- 1/8 tsp. dried oregano
- 8 red or green bell peppers
- 1/2 c. frozen corn
- 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes, then add minced garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Add rice, vegetable broth or water, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 16-18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice off the tops of the peppers and scrape out the seeds and membranes. Place peppers snugly in the bottom of an 8 x 8 glass baking dish (or larger, depending on the size of your peppers).
- When rice is finished cooking, add corn and beans to the mixture and stir to combine. Spoon carefully into peppers.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheddar, and continue baking another 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
A Love Letter to Food Original Recipe.
Steak Chopped Salad
Somewhere early on in my learning the German language, I read the original Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel. It’s pretty different from the Disney movie, FYI, from the lack of catchy musical numbers to the fact that the prince who comes to rescue Rapunzel from her tower ends up blinded when he attempts suicide by leaping out her window. (Hard to imagine that fitting in a catchy musical number anyway, now that I think about it.) But the especially bizarre thing that always stood out to me about the original German version of Rapunzel is that almost the entire first half of the story, which happens before Rapunzel’s birth, has to do with her pregnant mother’s insane lust for the lettuce growing in her neighbor’s garden. The mother’s desire for a salad made of the beautiful green lettuce she sees growing in this garden is so strong that she sends her husband to steal some. The husband, dutiful man that he is, does so, only to find his wife’s cravings intensified threefold after she finally tastes the forbidden lettuce. Dang those pregnancy cravings!
When he eventually gets caught by the neighbor (who–didja guess? happens to be a witch), he promises to hand over the baby to her at birth, so long as his wife can continue to have a supply of the lettuce for her surreptitious salads. Cause, you know, baby…lettuce…it’s all good.
You’ll have to read the original Grimm fairy tale if you want to know how things pan out for Rapunzel and kooky family, but whenever I recall the story, I always think, DANG, that must have been one awesome salad to make her parents hand over their firstborn for it. (That or they weren’t too thrilled about having a baby in the first place?) Every time I have a great salad, I kind of chuckle to myself, like, “Could this be the one someone would relinquish their children for?” Just so you know, I have yet to find the salad I’d be willing to trade my kids in for…
BUT…while we’re on the subject, let’s talk about this uh-may-zing Steak Chopped Salad. Thankfully, you don’t need to make a deal with your neighborhood mistress of the dark arts for a taste. Nor do you need to go hopping fences to steal magical lettuce. All you need are some pantry staples, a good piece of sirloin, and some garden-fresh red cabbage and romaine. The combination of roasted red peppers, creamy feta, marinated steak, and crunchy lettuce with a zingy Mediterranean-style dressing is sublime enough to make you think magic was involved. I couldn’t stop thinking about it after we had it a few night ago.
So I can only assume this is the salad Rapunzel’s mother made, because IF there were a salad that could make me go to crazy lengths to eat it, well, this is the one.
Steak Chopped Salad
A fresh, whole foods chopped salad you'll want to make again and again!
Servings: 4 as a main course
Ingredients
For the steak:
- 1 lb. sirloin steak
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/3 c. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
For the salad:
- 2 c. red cabbage, chopped into strips
- 6 c. romaine lettuce, chopped into strips
- 3/4 c. jarred roasted red peppers, diced
- 3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
- 1 15-oz. can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
For the dressing:
- 1/3 c. olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp. dried basil
- 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
- generous pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
Make the steak:
- Combine garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper in a gallon freezer bag. Add steak to the bag and let marinate in the refrigerator 30 minutes-2 hours.
- Bring steak to room temperature by removing from refrigerator 15-30 minutes prior to cooking. Remove from marinade and pat dry. Set an oven rack 4-5 inches from broiler heating element and preheat broiler to high.
- Heat a small skillet over high heat. Add steak and sear 2-3 minutes per side, using tongs to flip in between. Place skillet in oven under broiler and broil on each side 2-3 minutes, again using tongs to flip.
- Carefully tent aluminum foil over skillet and let steak rest while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Make the salad:
- In a large bowl, toss chopped red cabbage, chopped romaine, red peppers, feta, and cannellini beans.
Make the dressing:
- In a 1-cup measuring cup, combine all ingredients. Using an immersion blender, mix until emulsified.
Put it all together:
- Slice steak into cubes, cutting against the grain, and add to salad. Serve with dressing on the side.
Notes
Loosely inspired by Real Simple.
Salmon Kale Caesar Wraps
If it seems like it’s been quite awhile since the last post here blog, there’s a reason for that. The hiatus wasn’t intentional. Apparently, someone on the other side of the world hacked my site, putting all kinds of trashy-trash links to their trashy-trash ads on my site, creating an entire day’s work for my husband (saintly technology pro that he is) to fix it.
Thanks, random person in Romania!
Honestly, it’s a lesson learned the hard way that I need to stay on top of my website updates (which guard against this sort of thing)–and a sad reminder that there are people who have no qualms about spewing their trashy-trash barfy-barf all over someone else’s content. Not that I’m bitter.
On a happier note, I’ve been waiting two whole weeks to share these Salmon Kale Caesar Wraps with you, and now I finally can! If you’re the kind of person who has issues with fish–“fissues”?–either because A) It’s too expensive, B) It’s hard to justify eating it for sustainability reasons, or C) It tastes too “fishy,” this recipe is for you. First of all, it takes only three-quarters of a pound of salmon and stretches it to make four servings, cutting the cost of fish per serving to about half of what it would be in a typical salmon dinner. And using less salmon perhaps allows for a splurge on more a sustainably farmed/caught (and therefore more expensive) fish. Also, because the salmon gets tossed with several other flavorful ingredients and wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, it’s definitely not your usual fishy-fish entree.
I know, right? Mind. Blown. No more reasons to not eat fish. (Well, maybe you have your reasons. Maybe a fish robbed your grandmother…or hacked your website.)
Anyway, add to all this goodness that this recipe is mega-healthy and dead-easy to make in the space of half an hour, and you’ve got yourself a foolproof weeknight dinner or casual lunch.
Enjoy!
Salmon Kale Caesar Wraps
A Love Letter to Food Original Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 lb. salmon
1/4 lemon
drizzle olive oil
salt and pepper
6 c. kale, chopped
1/3 c. purchased or homemade Caesar salad dressing
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
4 whole wheat tortillas
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray. Place salmon in the dish and squeeze 1/4 lemon on top, followed by a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Meanwhile, assemble the salad: in a medium bowl, toss kale with Caesar dressing and Parmesan.
- Add cooked salmon to the salad and toss to combine.
- Fill tortillas with completed salad, wrap, and serve.
Serves 4.
Chicken Parmesan Burgers
I have one (and only one) white shirt I have never spilled anything on. It’s a principle of Murphy’s Law that whenever you wear white, it will end up being a day when you eat spaghetti and meatballs, barbecue pork, or some other food that seems to possess a grim determination to leap from your plate onto your clothing and make it look like you somehow 1.) poo’d yourself in the front and/or 2.) are bleeding internally. But my one lacy-fronted white shirt has somehow evaded all these offenders and managed to retain its purity. I’m especially proud of this feat this week because, when I wore it the other day, I ate not one but two of those foods that inevitably spatter clean whites with kamikaze fury: juicy in-season red cherries and one of these tasty chicken parmesan burgers. I know, putting a chicken parmesan between two buns and eating it with your hands is basically asking for an Oxiclean commercial-level stain, but…… VICTORY!!!
I probably shouldn’t speak of this accomplishment out loud. I’m probably jinxing myself right now.
Still…….worth it! These chicken parmesan burgers were a definite hit at our house. For me, it was one of those moments of “Wait, why have I never thought of this combination before?” (For my kids, it was more of a “Bread and meat and cheese! We approve!” moment.) Regardless, we were all happy. Despite loving a good beef burger, I generally shy away from them, per last year’s World Health Organization research and recommendations on red meat. And while I don’t particularly miss the beef in a burger, I know there are a lot of people who do. So why not make the transition from red to white meat a little easier by adding some piquant marinara and stretchy mozzarella–the perfect marriage of classic Italian and American foods? It’s an easy weeknight meal that comes together fast and pairs well with a green salad and a red wine. The only challenge is….
Can you (safely) eat them all while wearing a white shirt?
Chicken Parmesan Burgers
A Love Letter to Food Original Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. ground chicken (or turkey)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 c. marinara sauce
3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 c. arugula or spinach, if desired
6 hamburger buns or 9 slider buns, toasted
Directions:
- Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat (or plug in your handy-dandy George Foreman grill, like I do). In a large bowl, mix ground chicken and next 7 ingredients (through Parmesan cheese). Form into 3/4 inch-thick patties. Grill 5-6 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove patties from grill and preheat oven broiler to high. Spread 1-2 Tbsp. marinara sauce over each burger and top with 1-2 Tbsp. mozzarella. Broil 5 inches away from heat for 1-2 minutes, watching cheese closely to make sure it doesn’t scorch.
- Serve topped with greens, if desired, on toasted buns.
Serves 6.
Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
Here’s a little scenario that recurs every time I meal plan over the weekend:
“Anthony, anything you want me to make for dinner this week?”
“Pretzel buns! Anything with pretzel buns…could you go to Costco and get some pretzel buns?”
The man is obsessed.
I get it. Pretzel buns are freaking awesome. Ever since they first showed up at our Costco a year or two ago, we have succumbed to their siren song of chewy, salty deliciousness on a semi-regular basis (though not as regularly as Anthony apparently would like). When we initially bought the mega-pack of a dozen or so buns, I figured I would freeze about half of them for future use, but no, we have consistently used the ENTIRE bag in a matter of days. We even took them on our recent trip to Disneyland to eat as snacks throughout our day in the park. And yeah, they were gone in the first 24 hours.
So when Anthony repeated his request for meals involving pretzel buns last week, I decided turkey burger sliders sounded like a tasty way to incorporate that all-important ingredient. But plain ol’ regular turkey burgers? Never! Special buns call for special burgers! Besides, unadorned turkey burgers can be pretty blah. That’s where this concoction of Mediterranean burger flair comes in. Yes, I am aware that “Mediterranean” + “burger” may be a contradiction in terms…I can’t think of any Mediterranean nations that are known for their signature burgers–the Lebanese Burger? the Croatian Burger?–but, you know, go with me on this one. You can’t go wrong with adding flavors like garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil to meat, in my opinion. (Additional evidence here.) Topped with a piquant garlic-feta aioli, these were a slice of Mediterranean meat heaven…or should I say a pretzel bun of Mediterranean meat heaven? Either way, I will absolutely be making these again, probably for company, and probably very often, if our bun consumption continues at its current rate.
P.S. These can be made into regular-sized burgers as well as sliders, of course.
P.P.S. Aren’t you proud of me for not making any jokes about buns throughout this entire post?
Mediterranean Turkey Burgers with Garlic Feta Aioli
(Burgers A Love Letter to Food Original; Aioli from from Cooking Light)
Ingredients:
For the burgers:
1 1/3 lb. ground turkey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried parsley
1 egg
3/4 c. Panko bread crumbs
4 cloves garlic
1/2 c. sundried tomatoes (not in oil)
5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
6 whole wheat buns for regular-sized burgers or 12 pretzel rolls for sliders
For the Garlic Feta Aioli:
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Directions:
- Preheat a grill for medium-high heat.
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, egg, and Panko until well mixed.
- Place 4 garlic cloves, sundried tomatoes, and thawed spinach in the bowl of a food processor. Process briefly until tomatoes and garlic are chopped fine. Add to turkey mixture and stir well to combine.
- Using your hands, divide the mixture into 6 large patties (for burgers) or 12 small patties (for sliders). Grill 3-4 minutes per side for sliders, 5-6 minutes per side for regular-sized burgers.
- Prepare the aioli: blend all ingredients with an immersion blender or in a food processor.
- Assemble burgers and top with aioli.
Serves 6.