Dad's Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

 

Ingredients

• 4 bell peppers, any color
• Salt
• 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb of lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (if using can, drain of excess liquid first)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• Dash of Tabasco sauce

Method

1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.

2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well. (You may find it easier to put the ingredients at this point into a large bowl and mix together with your hands.)

3 Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil inside the peppers. Arrange the cut side of the peppers up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed peppers is 150-160°F.
Yield: Serves 4-6.

http://bit.ly/ok57ls

Japanese Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• 3 pounds chicken wings
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1 cup butter
• SAUCE
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cut wings in half, dip in egg and coat with flour.
3. Heat butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Fry wings until deep brown. Place in a shallow roasting pan.
4. In a small bowl combine soy sauce, water, sugar, vinegar, garlic powder and salt. Pour over wings.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, basting wings with sauce often.

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Apple Bites

These toothsome treats are a fun and healthy break from Halloween sweets

 

Ingredients

• Apples

• Slivered almonds

Instructions

1. Just quarter and core an apple, cut a wedge from the skin side of each quarter, then press slivered almonds in place for teeth.

Tips:

If you're not going to serve them right away, baste the apples with orange juice to keep them from browning.



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Fruity Fun Skewers

Ingredients

• 5 large strawberries, halved
• 1/4 cantaloupe, cut into balls or cubes
• 2 bananas, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 apple, cut into chunks
• 20 skewers

Directions

1. Thread the strawberries, cantaloupe, banana and apple pieces alternately onto skewers, placing at least 2 pieces of fruit on each skewer. Arrange the fruit skewers decoratively on a serving platter.

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Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

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Marinated Veggie Kabobs

 1 medium eggplant, chopped 1"
    2 small zucchini, chopped 1"
    1 or 2 red or green bell peppers, chopped 1"
    8 medium button mushrooms, chopped 1"
    2-4 small-medium yellow onions, chopped 1"
    1/4 cup cider or balsamic vinegar
    1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
    1/2 teaspoon rosemary
    2 cloves garlic, chopped
    salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place the vegetables into a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, rosemary, garlic, and salt and pepper and whisk into a uniform liquid. 

2. Pour the liquid over the vegetables and, using your hands, turn the ingredients to ensure each piece is well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. 

3. To cook, preheat oven to broil and thread the vegetables onto metal skewers. Reserve the marinade to baste kabobs.

4. Place the skewers in a broiler pan and cook under the broiler for 10-15 minutes. Baste the cooking kabobs with the marinade periodically during the cooking. 

Serve over rice or couscous with the leftover marinade as a light sauce. This is great as leftovers, too. The flavors intensify.

Serves: 4-6, Preparation time: 30 min
http://bit.ly/pAZ0Sa

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth.
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

http://bit.ly/pGZjRp