Stuffed Peppers

I've decided to start cooking again.

I love to cook...that's not the reason why I don't have homemade meals, ready for Ken, when he gets home everyday. My problem is more the planning and grocery shopping. I used to make a weekly menu and shop accordingly several times a week...but...I've just been too lazy. Plus, Ken has been working late a lot, we try to go to the gym after work, and we have had quite a few plans with friends that keep us away during dinner time. I know I just rattled off excuse after excuse...and it's time I put my big girl pants on and got busy in the kitchen.

To encourage myself to cook a few nights a week I am going to start sharing what we are eating on here!  Plus, a few people have asked for this recipe after seeing a picture I posted.

Tuesday for dinner I made stuffed peppers. I had a recipe printed and thought this would be a healthy dinner and something we had never had before. The problem is am not good at sticking to a recipe. I'm a picky eater and I usually only have half the ingredients the recipe calls for. So with that being said, I improvised on Tuesday.  Here is the original recipe is case you were wondering. And here is what I made.

 

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 cup long grain brown rice (I used Uncle Ben’s but any would work)

1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)

1 can corn (drained)

2 Jalapenos diced (this is optional-we just love spicy foods)

1 packet of Taco seasoning

¼ cup of shredded cheese (I used a 3 cheese Mexican blend)

8 large bell peppers

 

Preparation

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Dice jalapenos

Drain and rinse black beans and corn

Slice the top off of the bell peppers and clean out seeds (neat tip: slice a tiny piece off of the bottom of  the peppers will have a flat surface and can stand upright)

 
Cooking

Place ground turkey in skillet and cook on medium until brown.  Add taco seasoning to turkey meat.  In another pot cook rice according to package.  Once rice is completely cooked, add corn, black beans, jalapenos, seasoned ground turkey and mix together.  Fill each pepper with rice mixture (pack it down with a spoon) and place in a baking dish.  Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes. Add shredded cheese the last 5 minutes of baking.


This recipe makes a lot of the rice mixture.  I only made 3 stuffed peppers and put the rest of the mixture in a zip lock bag, in the freezer.  Now I can have this meal another time by thawing out the rice mixture. You could also take this recipe and add an Italian twist by using sausage, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese!

Enjoy!

It's begun...Football Season

It's that time of the year and I hate to admit it....but I'm not excited.  The hubby looks forward to football season all year, and me, well not so much. 

Growing up, my family didn't worship football like most American families. I never had a team to root for or a favorite player to wear their jersey.  That all changed once Ken came into my life.  Football season to him is the best time of the year.  Shortly after we were married, he woke me up in the middle of the night to let me know I needed to pick a team for the upcoming season and that we were going to buy jerseys.  Imagine my joy when that happened!

This year, I am a little more excited about football season for 3 reasons:

1.) We now have a new team and player to root for....Jon Weeks from the Houston Texans!  A dear friend of mine is engaged to him (I even get to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in February) and Ken and I have really enjoyed getting to know him.  When you know someone playing it becomes so much more fun watch! Plus, Ken and I will be going to Houston this season to see him play and catch up with Amanda & Jon!

2.)  We just bought a new couch and I can't wait to lay on it all day long - even if I am forced to watch football more than 2 days a week!

3.) I love any excuse to have people over and make some good food...including these treats below! 

Football Truffles - recipe found on Pretty Providence. I will definitely be making these this season!

Found this one on pinterest from Plain Chicken and I can't wait to try it out! It's called Mississippi Sin...mmm!

Buffalo Chicken Dip - I've made this so many times and it is amazing. I've changed up the recipe and don't use the blue cheese/ranch dressing. Plus I make it in the crock pot which makes this so easy!
 

I hope you enjoy these game time treats and come over any time to catch a game on our new couch!Go Texans!