Tag: Red Pepper

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

I love chili, and with the warm winter we’ve been having, I didn’t have nearly enough of it. So before spring is truly here, I wanted to make another batch. This meatless chili has so many different beans and flavor, you won’t even miss the meat! I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light, using more peppers, diced tomatoes instead of stewed, and a bit of vegetable broth to thin it out a little.
Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
1  chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped orange bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth


To make, heat a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium- high heat. Add the olive oil. Add the onion, peppers and garlic.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the sugar, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Add the tomatoes, beans, and broth.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

That’s it!

A delicious, hearty, meatless meal in 40 minutes.

Serve with corn bread if desired.

I love the colors in this! Look at all those different tones!

The chili looked a little too chunky without the vegetable broth, but if you like it that way, feel free to omit the broth.

 

Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce

I’m on a slight mussel kick at the moment. I can’t stop thinking about Eulogy’s beer mussels, Bona Cucina’s mussels in white wine, and most recently, a mussels in red sauce I had back in college. I found a recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce in an old Cooking Light I thought I’d try. I was hoping for a slightly spicy dish, so I altered some of the ingredients.
Ingredients:
  • 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 a yellow onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 bag mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain, and keep warm.
I wrote in my paella post how to clean and debeard mussels. It’s not terribly complicated, but it took me a while to be ok with debearding. Once the mussels are cleaned and debearded, you can begin cooking.
Add olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Chop your onion, garlic and bell peppers.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add the bell pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
Remove the tomatoes from the can, reserving the liquid. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, liquid, and wine to the pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add mussels, increase the heat to medium and cover.
Cook for 7 minutes or until the shells begin to open.  If any do not open, throw those out; do not eat them. Add the pasta to the same pot and mix to coat with the sauce.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
When I first tried this, I didn’t add any cheese. And there was a little something just missing. It was ok, but somewhat bland.
I’d add a bit more spice next time. Maybe more red pepper flakes, or even a few drops of hot sauce.
My boyfriend suggested adding Parmesan cheese, and it did really help the flavor of the dish, so be sure to add some at the end!
This could be a really stellar recipe with a few modifications. What would you add to change this from a three star recipe to a five star recipe?
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Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 a yellow onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 bag mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain, and keep warm.
  2. Clean and debeard the mussels.
  3. Add olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Chop your onion, garlic and bell peppers.
  4. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Add the bell pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
  6. Remove the tomatoes from the can, reserving the liquid. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, liquid, and wine to the pan and bring to a boil.
  7. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add mussels, increase the heat to medium and cover.
  8. Cook for 7 minutes or until the shells begin to open. If any do not open, throw those out; do not eat them. Add the pasta to the same pot and mix to coat with the sauce.
  9. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
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Stuffed Peppers

I have been a part of a food swap for about 6 months now, and I am already running low on ideas.  As I was frantically looking for an idea, I realized no one had made stuffed peppers yet, win! Stuffed peppers are a perfect, hearty meal for relatively little cost. They are pretty adaptable and can honestly be made with whatever you want. To make vegetarian, sub in beans or just omit the ground beef all together.
Ingredients (this makes 10 stuffed peppers)
10 peppers
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
3 onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
2.5 lbs ground beef
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 can diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon each of basil, oregano and parsley (dried)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper, to taste

5 cups cooked rice
½ cup grated Parmesan
Cut off top of peppers, removing the seeds and membranes. Dice the edible parts of the tops of the peppers.

 

Add the whole peppers to a pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove from water and set aside.

 

Add the butter and olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, diced peppers, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the ground beef, stirring to break up the meat.

Cook until browned. Add the Worcestershire, diced tomatoes, and tomato puree, stirring to combine.

 

Season with oregano, basil, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cooked rice and parmesan cheese.

 

Stuff peppers with mixture, sprinkling with more parmesan cheese if desired.

 

Because I made these for a swap, I froze the peppers at this stage.

 

To cook, thaw completely then bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes.

I hope they like them!

Champagne Risotto Primavera

I still have some prosecco sitting around after New Years Eve that I don’t want to go to waste. It’s already open so there’s really no way to save it. I usually use leftover wine in my risotto, so why not use sparkling wine instead? After all the food I ate in the past week, I thought I should probably incorporate some vegetables into my risotto as well. I adapted a Weight Watchers recipe to incorporate the sparkling wine.
 
Ingredients:
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cup uncooked arborio rice
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup champagne, prosecco, or other sparkling wine, divided
  • 1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • fresh parsley, chopped

Continue reading Champagne Risotto Primavera

Meatloaf Muffins

I don’t think I’ve ever had a craving for meatloaf. Honestly, I’m pretty sure I’ve only had meatloaf once. So I never actively seek out making meatloaf, much to my boyfriend’s disappointment. However, we both had long, exhausting work weeks, so I thought he deserved a comfort-food meal. Cooking light had a recipe for Meatloaf Muffins that I thought would work great; he could eat as much as he wanted and then have perfectly portioned “muffins” that I could freeze.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
3 bell peppers (I used one orange, yellow & red), chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
1  pound ground beef, extra lean
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, cut out of its casing (I used 2 sausages)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your onion, carrot, garlic, and peppers. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, basil, parsley, garlic and peppers. (Note: I completely forgot about the peppers and had to go back and saute them on their own. Just pretend they are in the photos. Shh.)

 

 

Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the sausage, cut out of the casing, beef, 1/2 ketchup, sriracha, panko, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ground pepper, eggs, and the cooled onion mixture in a large bowl.

 

 

Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray.  Add the mixture to the muffin tins. (I used large muffin tins so there were only 6. This recipe also works with the standard size 12. For the large, 1 muffin is a serving. For the standard, 2 muffins are a serving.)

 

Top each with two teaspoons ketchup. (I got bored/creative)

 

Bake for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. (The larger muffins ended up taking about 35 minutes total).

 

Serve with sauteed green beans and baked potato wedges if desired.

So what’s the review from my boyfriend? Very good! There was a slight hint of sriracha without making the meatloaf spicy. The sausage added a smoky taste to the meatloaf, and the peppers added a slight crunch to the meal. He ate the meatloaf with a side of ketchup mixed with hot sauce and seemed to really enjoy it.

The best part of this dish is the remaining “muffins” can be frozen for future meals.

Print
Meatloaf “Muffins”

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
  • 3 bell peppers (I used one orange, yellow & red), chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup ketchup, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
  • 1 pound ground beef, extra lean
  • 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, cut out of its casing (I used 2 sausages)
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • Cooking spray

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your onion, carrot, garlic, and peppers. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, basil, parsley, garlic and peppers.
  2. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the sausage, cut out of the casing, beef, ½ ketchup, sriracha, panko, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ground pepper, eggs, and the cooled onion mixture in a large bowl.
  3. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray. Add the mixture to the muffin tins. (I used large muffin tins so there were only 6. This recipe also works with the standard size 12. For the large, 1 muffin is a serving. For the standard, 2 muffins are a serving.)
  4. Top each with two teaspoons ketchup.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. (The larger muffins ended up taking about 35 minutes total).
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Bacon-Topped Meatloaf

I didn’t grow up in a meatloaf household. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve only had meatloaf once. So when my boyfriend put in a special request for meatloaf I wasn’t exactly thrilled. But he rarely asks for anything specific, and is always willing to eat whatever I make (I jokingly refer to him as “I Can Eat That”) so I think he deserves this one request. I decided to try a recipe from Tyler Florence with a few changes.
Ingredients:
Tomato Relish:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and finely diced
4 plum tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 12 ounce bottle of ketchup
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Meatloaf:
1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons milk
1 pound ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
2 eggs
Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt and pepper
3 bacon slices

Continue reading Bacon-Topped Meatloaf

Vegan Chilled Corn Soup

I had a realization a few days ago that summer is almost over. And the end of summer means the winding down of fresh ingredients. So for the next few weeks, I am going to try to make meals that really highlight all of those in season vegetables (like my post about Fettuccine with Fresh Tomato Sauce). For seasonal recipes, Cooking Light continues to be my go-to magazine. Because it comes monthly, the recipes change with the seasons and freshness of produce. In the September issue, Cooking Light featured seven “Trailblazing Chefs” including recipes from some of the chefs. Chef Brandon Sharp, the executive chef of Solar located at the Solage Calistoga spa resort in the Napa Valley, has a recipe for Chilled Corn Soup that will make the most of summer corn. Plus, its also vegan and mostly fat free, win!
Ingredients (makes 6 servings):
4 large ears shucked corn
4 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in a bundle
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups water
1/2 cups diced peeled avocado
1/2 cup diced radish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Begin by shucking your corn. You can buy already shucked corn in the supermarket which will work just fine, just don’t use frozen corn kernels for this recipe. Prepare some of your ingredients: chop the onion, mince the garlic and bundle the thyme.
Using a knife, cut the kernels from the ears of corn. Using the dull side of the knife blade, run the knife back over the cobs to remove the remaining pulp and corn starch from the cobs into a separate bowl.
Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, tied thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. It’s best to tie the thyme for easy removal later.
Reduce the heat to medium low and cover. Cook for 8 minutes or until the onions have softened, stirring occasionally. Add the corn kernels and minced garlic, cover, and cook for 4 minutes.
Add the corn starch/pulp, water and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and discard the thyme. Pour half of the corn mixture into a blender.
Remove the center piece of the blender lid so that the steam can escape. Place a clean towel or paper towel over the hole in the blender lid to avoid splatters, and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl.
Using a spoon, push the liquid through the sieve and discard the solids.
Repeat with the remaining half of the corn mixture. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
When you are ready to serve the corn soup, dice the avocado and radishes, and chop the cilantro. Add to a bowl. Squeeze the lime juice over the avocado and radishes. Be sure to get it on all pieces so that they don’t oxidize and turn colors. Add the ground red pepper and mix to combine.
To serve, ladle 1 cup soup into each of 6 bowls, top with 2 tablespoons of the avocado mixture.
The soup was so creamy and smooth, it tasted like it was made with heavy cream. The corn starch/pulp thickens the broth which gives it that creamy quality. The radishes added a nice crunch to the dish, and the avocados add a bit more creaminess and a little bit of good fats to make the dish more filling. I loved the cilantro, it enhances the other flavors. What a delicious soup!

Corn Chowder

I have so much corn, it’s getting ridiculous. For the past three weeks my CSA share has come with 6 ears of corn and well, I’m corn-ed out. So I decided to make a corn chowder that I plan on freezing to enjoy when I’m craving corn in non-summer months. I’m hoping the texture of the chowder doesn’t change after freezing. I found this recipe on Simply Recipes, and chose to make it without the bacon. I also had green bell peppers from my CSA share, so I used that instead of buying a red pepper.

 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 large carrot, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 celery stalk, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs (about 2 cups), cobs reserved
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups milk, whole or low fat
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, or Russet, peeled and diced
1/4 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Prepare all your vegetables.

 

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft.

 

Add the carrot and celery and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes.

 

Cut the corn cobs in half and add them to the saute pan.

 

Add the milk and bay leaf.

 

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a light simmer (low heat, maybe even the “warm” setting).
Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Do not boil; make sure it is just at a light simmer. This is to prevent the milk from burning.
Remove the cobs and the bay leaf. Turn the heat up to medium. Add the potatoes, green pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste.

 

Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
Increase the heat again and add the corn kernels and thyme. Bring to a boil. (Last time) reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
I had a bit of this just to make sure it turned out alright, and it was really good! I wish I had cut the vegetables much much smaller, I found it to be a bit too chunky. This is a hearty colder weather dish, so I can’t wait to break this out when the leaves begin to change.

 

Crab Corn and Tomato Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing

With a fridge full of beautiful ears of bi-sweet corn, I am on a bit of a corn kick. I am always in search of meals that I think can be made the night ahead and eaten for lunch the next day, and this one fit the bill. I modified the original recipe for this Crab Corn and Tomato Salad (from Cooking Light of course) to work as a lunch meal.

 

Ingredients:
Grated lemon rind from 2 lemons
Lemon juice from 2 lemons
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (about 1 ears)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil leaves
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1/2 pound lump crab meat, shell pieces removed
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

To make the dressing, combine the zest, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well with a whisk until the olive oil is incorporated. To make the Crab Corn and Tomato Salad, add the corn, basil, bell pepper, red onion, crab meat, and tomatoes to the dressing. Toss gently to coat.

 

I love citrus with any kind of seafood. Lemon brightens the dish overall and works so well with the crab and tomatoes. Because I let it sit overnight, the citrus flavor really had time to soak in. This is really a great make-ahead meal!

Avocado-Corn Chowder with Rotisserie Chicken

I swear, every single recipe I’ve come across in the past week has included avocado. I am somewhat blaming one of my coworkers, who manages to consume at least 1/2 an avocado a day, every day. So this recipe choice is very much influenced by her avocado obsession. My CSA share’s inclusion of corn this week made this a must try. I adapted this from Cooking Light‘s August Issue.

 

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados, divided
1 1/2 cups water
The juice of 1 lemon
The juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
A pinch of ground red pepper
1/4 rotisserie chicken, shredded
Corn kernels from 3 ears of corn (or 1.5 cups of defrosted corn kernels)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Peel and chop 1 avocado and put into a blender.

 

Add the water, lemon and lime juice, honey, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and pinch of red pepper. (Add more red pepper if desired) Blend until smooth.

 

Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. During this time, chop your red bell pepper, scallions, and cilantro, and peel and dice your remaining avocado. Shred the chicken as finely as you choose.

 

Combine the diced avocado, bell pepper, corn and scallions and pour the avocado puree over the mixture. Mix to combine. Spoon into four bowls and top with chicken and cilantro.

 

This meal is too easy to not try. Using frozen corn kernels and rotisserie chicken makes this a 20 minute meal. I made this the night before in the hopes of having it for lunch the next day. I was a bit worried that it might oxidize overnight and turn an unappealing color, but the citrus from the lemon and lime kept that from happening. The original recipe uses orange juice instead, but that didn’t sound all that appealing to me. I also substituted rotisserie chicken for grilling my own chicken because I had bought 1/2 a rotisserie chicken to make another dish from Cooking Light also.

 

I loved that the citrus came through in the dish, but could have used a bit more red pepper flakes. This is a very chunky chowder, which makes it feel like a real meal versus a too smooth soup. My coworker even tried a bite, and she approved. I will be making this for lunch again in the near future!

Mango Shrimp Kebabs

Earlier this week, I wrote a post reviewing Cooking Light’s new App. I have been playing around with the app for about a week and kept coming back to this Mango Shrimp Kebab recipe. The colors are amazing, and it sounded so delicious! I cut the recipe in half (makes 2 servings) but kept the original recipe mostly intact.

 

Ingredients:
3/4 pounds large peeled and deveined shrimp
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 mango, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 small red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
Juice and zest of 1 lime, cut into wedges
Cooking spray

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Prepare your mango, pepper, and onion.

 

Thread shrimp, bell pepper, mango, and onion alternately onto 4 skewers. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lime zest. Note: the original recipe did not include zest. But I thought it might be an easy addition to the flavors, you’re using a lime anyways!

Coat the grill with cooking spray. Place the skewers on the grill rack and cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until shrimp are cooked (Mine took closer to 3-4 minutes per side, I blame my little indoor grill. If using a normal grill, 2 minutes on each side should be plenty.)

Serve with  lime wedges. Squeeze the wedges over kebabs before eating.

 

Before I go on, I want to give special thanks to my “Sous Chef” and friend Ericka for helping me out. I am pretty darn scared of knives and cutting slippery fruit stresses me out quite a bit, so I am forever grateful to Ericka for her amazing mango-chopping skills.

We made this along with the Corn with Lime and Chipotle, also suggested by the app. And I couldn’t be happier with the results. The pairing was perfect! We actually ended up using some of the leftover chipotle butter mix on some of the shrimp, just to try it out.

shrimp with chipotle butter

Ericka thought maybe marinating the shrimp in a jerk marinade before adding to the skewers would really bump this recipe up a notch and I agree. However, the original recipe is delicious on its own, and quite simple and fast to make. Look out for my post on the Corn, these two really should be eaten together!

The ingredients were wonderful together, sweet, tangy and fresh. Ericka kept referring to getting a piece of each ingredient in one bite “the perfect bite” and I have to agree with her.

Do not forget to squeeze the lime over the skewers before enjoying. The citrus adds a whole new dimension to this already delicious dish.

 

Sausage, Pepper & Onion Sandwiches

I love making sausage and peppers. It is such a simple meal to make and is always well received. Sausage and peppers are a hearty meal and work well in both hot summer months as a sandwich, and also during the fall and winter as a chunky stew or over pasta. I purchased sweet Italian sausage to make a soup (which I have yet to actually make) that only required one sausage. I also had some peppers from my CSA share this week so this was a great option for dinner without having to purchase a bunch of new ingredients.
Ingredients:
4 sausages (I used sweet Italian. feel free to use hot sausages instead)
2 green peppers, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 rolls
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a saute pan over medium-high heat. When heated, add the sausages and cook until browned, turning the sausages so they cook evenly.

While the sausages are cooking (about 10 minutes), chop your garlic, onion, and peppers.

Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside.
Using the same saute pan, lower the hear to medium. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add the 1.5 cups of crushed tomatoes. Feel free to add a bit more if you’d prefer yours a little more “saucy.” Add in the tomato paste, basil, dried parsley, and dried oregano.
Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and add in the sausages. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 3-5 more minutes or until the sausages are warm. Cut the rolls almost in half, but not fully. You want the sauce to be able to settle at the bottom of the bun.

To serve, add 1 sausage to each bun. Spoon the onions, peppers, and tomato mixture over the sausage. Add some Parmesan cheese and/or parsley if you prefer.

If you have an outdoor grill, you can alter this recipe to grill the sausages and add to the pan at the end. This recipe can also be used over pasta, just chop up the sausage into bit sized pieces. This is a pretty messy meal so be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand. Enjoy!

Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds

I had some left over goat cheese from my Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red Peppers and Goat Cheese dish. When I was looking for recipes, I came across this one for Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds from Cooking Light. I had no clue how seafood and goat cheese would be together, but was willing to find out!
Ingredients:
  • 1 (16 oz) box linguine
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 (4-ounce) package log-shaped goat cheese
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium (~1 cup) onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 plum tomatoes (~2 1/2 cups), roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Continue reading Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I think I’m on a hummus kick. Or maybe I’m feeling particularly lazy dinner-wise this week, and hummus is a quick and easy thing to make. Whatever the reason, it is hummus overload on this website. I have a good feeling no one is complaining though. One of the most appealing things about hummus is how versatile it is. Here is my version of roasted red pepper hummus.
Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup tahini
The juice and zest of 1 lemon juice
1 jar of roasted red peppers (about 3 peppers)
1 garlic scape, chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
For dipping:
Grape tomatoes
Pita bread
Cucumber

First, prepare your red peppers. Remove the peppers from the jar. Take two of the peppers and roughly chop. You will use these in the actual hummus. Finely chop the remaining red pepper as a topping for the hummus. Set the finely chopped red pepper aside.
Combine everything (chickpeas to salt and pepper) in a food processor.
Blend until smooth.
Top with some of the remaining red pepper. Serve with pita, cucumber slices, or tomatoes.
Roasted red pepper hummus is one of my favorite. It always ends up tasting so smooth and creamy, it makes me so happy.  The tiny addition of cumin gives a light heat to the hummus which I really enjoy. If you’re not a fan, feel free to omit the cumin. I loved the scapes in this hummus. Raw minced garlic can sometimes be overbearing in hummus, so the subtlety of the scapes was perfect.

Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red Peppers and Goat Cheese

My CSA share came with Swiss chard this week. I wasn’t in the mood to do another leafy green side, so I looked for a recipe that incorporated the Swiss Chard within the main dish. I found this recipe in the Health section of the New York Times and thought it was worth a try.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of Swiss chard, stemmed and washed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 red bell peppers, finely diced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 garlic scapes, thinly sliced
Salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram
1 box of orecchiette
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

To begin, boil a pot of water over high heat. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare your Swiss chard. Add ice water to a bowl. When the water boils, add salt and the Swiss chard.
Boil for 2 minutes and remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice water.
Reduce the heat of the leftover boiling water to a simmer. Drain the chard and squeeze the excess water out. Chop the Swiss chard and reserve.
In a saute pan, heat the olive oil and add the finely chopped peppers and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring often.
Bring the pot of water to a boil again. Add the pasta, cooking until al dente as directed on the box. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
In the saute pan, add the garlic scapes and salt, stirring to combine.
When combined, add the chopped Swiss chard and marjoram.
Stir and lower the heat to warm.  Add the 1/2 cup of pasta water and stir in the goat cheese.
Add the orecchiette to the mixture and serve.
This was a nice alternative to the normal pasta with tomato sauce. The orecchiette helped catch some of the Swiss chard, peppers, and goat cheese so definitely use this type of pasta or another kind that can catch the ingredients. This made so much pasta, it will also be my lunch tomorrow. I have a feeling this will be better the next time around!
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