
My best meal of the week was a new twist on an old favorite. Growing up, I cherished the days when I would come home from school to find the smells of stuffed peppers wafting through the house. Ahh... comfort food. I took this old favorite and mixed up the ingredients to make it a healthier and dare I say more delicious dish!
It's pretty quick and easy too. Start with the ingredients: 4 large peppers (any color will do), plus 1/2 another pepper for chopping, 1/2 onion, 1 jalapeño, 1 pound ground bison, 1 cup cooked quinoa, 1 can diced organic tomatoes, 1/2 can tomato paste, 1/2 cup cooked spinach. Include whatever spices you desire. I prefer garlic, pepper, oregano and basil for this recipe.
I chopped the tops off and cleaned-out the 4 large peppers, then boiled them in salted water for 14 minutes. The bison was lightly cooked in a pan and set aside. Using the same pan, I sautéed the onion and peppers in olive oil. Finally everything was combined and mixed together in a bowl. The mixture was then stuffed into the peppers. That's it! Heat the peppers in the oven at 350°F for 25 minutes and gobble up!
Most recently, I made the stuffed peppers quickly on a Sunday, stored them in the fridge, and then heated them up on Monday. It was a delicious, home-cooked weeknight meal that felt like my Mom had been cooking in the kitchen for hours. The smell was amazing!
Here's a vegetarian version of Roasted Bell Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa.
My daughter requested Chicken Noodle Soup, my husband asked for Chicken Rice Soup and I didn't have time to make either from scratch. So I used leftover rotisserie chicken meat along with pantry and freezer staples for a quick yet satisfying soup. I started by sautéing a couple of cloves of garlic (minced), a diced onion and half a bag of baby carrots in a bit of olive oil. I then added a 32-ounce box of chicken broth, 2 cups of water, 2-3 cups of diced chicken from the rotisserie leftovers, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Add ½ bag frozen green beans and continue to simmer for about 10 to 20 more minutes. While the soup was simmering, I boiled noodles in a separate pot. I find that noodles get too mushy if you add them to the soup, so I always combine noodles and broth just before serving. I keep frozen brown rice in the freezer too, so my daughter got her Chicken and Noodle, my husband got Chicken and Rice, and I got peace of mind!
Here's a Turkey Noodle Soup that uses leftovers and pantry staples in the same way.
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