Food goodness

Ok, this isn't really a recipe, because it kind of depends on how many peppers you have. But here's a description about what to do: Ground meat (beef, sausage, turkey, soy crumbles) - about 1 lb. butter - about 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour - about 2 Tbsp milk - about 2 cups dash of cayenne cheddar cheese - about a cup, shredded diced tomatoes, drained of liquid, optional peppers - banana, sweet Aruba, bell, etc. Amount depends on size. I used 3 med-sized sweet Arubas Crescent roll dough - 1 to 2 cans, depending on how many peppers you want to make Brown the meat. Drain. Make a cheese sauce - melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in all-purpose flour. Stir for a few minutes to cook out the flour taste. Add about 2 cups of milk. Whisk until thickened. Add a dash of cayenne pepper and shredded cheese; stir until well combined. You could add some diced, drained tomatoes here, too. Stir cheese sauce into meat. Cut the tops off the peppers. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Stuff ...

I was sort of pleased with myself when I managed to essentially make this entire dinner out of leftovers, except for the peppers themselves. The original recipe called for brown rice, and I substituted leftover orzo, and I had some leftover chicken sausage from making pizza, so yes. This was good and hearty. Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage, and Parmesan (Makes 4 large stuffed green peppers, recipe created by Kalyn when her market had a great sale on peppers!) 1 C long-grain brown rice [I used about a cup and a half of leftover orzo; this would also work with quinoa or any other small-ish grain, I think] 4 large green bell peppers, bottom trimmed, cap end cut off and diced, and seeds removed 1 large onion, diced 2 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil 2 links turkey Sweet Italian Sausage (or other sausage of your choice. Use diced mushrooms instead of sausage for vegetarian version.) [the mushroom thing is a good idea, but the sausage really did taste kind of perfect in here] ...

Since someone whose name rhymes with Shnulissa got us a pizza stone and a pizza peel as wedding presents, I have been obsessed with making pizza. We've done it three times in a week and a half, and note that there are no leftovers. (Also, I finally discovered the secret of it not sticking to the peel before the transfer: so much cornmeal. Like, half an inch of cornmeal under the entire thing. It's a little wasteful and uses more cornmeal than I knew existed in this world, but it totally works and now I can gently slide the perfectly arranged pizza from the peel to the stone like I'm in a pizza movie.) Anyway, here is a delicious recipe for tomato sauce, from Farmgirl Fare . She also has recipes for dough and a bunch of delicious-sounding topping combinations here . But now, sauce: Some good olive oil - Fresh garlic, coarsely chopped with some nice salt and allowed to sit 10 minutes if possible (so the beneficial compounds have time to mix with the air and become more "...

From: Allrecipes Ok, here's the second of my two flourless chocolate desserts. This was super dense, dark, rich.... definitely slice tiny slices and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to cut the richness of the chocolate. 1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup white sugar 18 ounces bittersweet chocolate 1 cup unsalted butter 6 eggs Directions 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch round cake pan and set aside. 2. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside. 3. Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer. 4. Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. 5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake p...

When I was pregnant with Katie and craving burritos every other day, we ate a lot of Chipotle for dinner. Gaby decided she did not want a kids' quesadilla, thank you very much, and would eat the same thing every time we went -- carnitas burrito, hold the beans, lettuce, and cheese. Every single time. We don't eat Chipotle much these days, mostly because I don't crave burritos every other day. But when we do, she still gets the same thing. Every time. A while back I came across a recipe for carnitas you could make in your slow cooker. I figured I'd give it a shot, and see if mine was as good as Chipotle's in the eyes of my very discerning 7 year old. Well, she ate two tacos that night, and patted her belly when she was done and said "that is really good meat, Mom." So I guess it passes the inspection. The original recipe is here , but I didn't measure much of anything. Here's how I did it. Put one 1 fresh ham (probably about 9 pounds) in slow cooker...

I think I've mentioned before that Ernie loves capers. I think he'd eat them right out of the jar if he thought about it -- and now that I've written this, he probably will. I ran across a recipe the other day for egg salad with capers, and knew he'd love it for lunch. He did. Again, this is my adaptation. And I didn't really measure anything, because that would involve getting measuring spoons out and sometimes I'm very, very lazy. You can find the original recipe here . 6 or 8 hardboiled eggs (we used 8, because that's what I had) lemon juice mayo (plain yogurt would work here, too) salt pepper capers Dice the hardboiled eggs, however you like them for egg salad. I like to smash the yolks a little bit. Put in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice and mayo. I used about 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and 3 Tbsp. mayo. Add mayo mixture to the eggs. Add about 2-3 Tbsp. capers (depending on how much you like them) and mix all together. Season with salt...

The first of two birthday desserts that I'm bringing into work tomorrow. Both of these desserts are gluten-free as well, as one of our new interns is gluten-intolerant and I wanted her to be able to join in the festivities. Here is the first recipe, from Simply Recipes I rolled some in cocoa powder, some in toasted coconut, and some in chopped toffee bits. You could also roll them in chopped toasted nuts. 8 ounces of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (high quality, 62% cacao or higher), well chopped into small pieces 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract Method 1 In a small, heavy saucepan bring the heavy whipping cream to a simmer. 2 Place the chocolate in a separate bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate, add the vanilla, and allow to stand for a few minutes then stir until smooth. 3 Allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator for two hours. Remove and with a teaspoon roll out balls of the ganache. Roll in your hands quickly (as it will melt from t...

I stealthily copied this out of a cooking magazine in a bookstore, because who has two thumbs and is still trying to use up the ridiculous amount of leftover feta and refuses to pay $11.99 for one magazine? This girl! The chicken is actually sort of an afterthought -- the sauce is the star of the show. We also put the sauce on orzo with lemon juice and chopped basil and green beans that I'd sauteed in the same pan as the chicken, with the leftover pieces of crust and olive oil. Feta sauce: Combine 1/2 t lemon rind, the juice from two lemons, 4 T olive oil, some chopped mint and black pepper (no salt for sure), and whisk together. Add 3.5 oz of feta (the recipe called for reduced fat; I just threw in a handful of what we had) and whisk again. It will be lumpy and thick, and that is fine and delicious. Chicken: Combine 2/3 c panko and 2 T Italian seasoning (I used oregano and rosemary) on a flat pie plate or dish. Sprinkle four chicken breast halves with salt and pepper and dredge. H...

Adapted from: Annie's Eats We had a whole bunch of peaches from the CSA that needed to be used this weekend, and this was the recipe I chose. It can easily be doubled by using a 9x14 pan and increasing the cooking time for the peaches by 5 min and the cook time for the whole thing with the biscuits by an additional 5 minutes. Ingredients: For the filling: 3 lbs. ripe but firm peaches 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp. cornstarch For the biscuit topping: 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup whole wheat flour 3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar, divided 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 5 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp plain whole milk yogurt (2% Greek yogurt worked fine) Directions: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 425° F. For the filling, peel the peaches and then cut each into 8 wedges, removing the pits as you go. Gently toss the peaches and sugar together in a large bowl and let stand for 30 minutes, t...

What do you do when you have 73 million tons of leftover roasted vegetables? Make three quiches, freeze them, and hope they turn out OK when they defrost. I have some weird bias against frozen leftovers (exacerbated by years of barely working or overcrowded freezers), but I'm really hoping the convenience of just being able to grab a pre-wrapped slice of this to take for lunch outweighs it. Adapted from Gluten Free Goddess, who used cheddar instead of feta and had fresh tomatoes and herbs on hand. 2 cups roasted vegetables (mine were wedding leftovers, mostly consisting of zucchini, asparagus, onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and eggplant) A handful of feta Sprinkling of romano or Parmesan 4 organic free-range eggs, beaten 1/2 cup light cream (yup, I really used cream. it had better be good.) A pinch of nutmeg A pinch of Old Bay Seasoning A pinch of dried basil and parsley (fresh probably would have been better but I was trying to be mindful of freezing) Notes from here on ar...

Don't have a smoker but want to have tasty ribs? This way works pretty well. from Alton Brown 2 full racks/slabs (about 4 1/2 pounds) baby back pork ribs Kosher salt 6 tablespoons Rub Number Nine, recipe follows 1/2 cup orange juice (not fresh squeezed) 1/2 cup margarita mix 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup ketchup 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee powder 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Place each rib rack on a sheet of extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil. (The foil should be 4 inches longer than the ribs on either end.) Season racks liberally with kosher salt and sprinkle each rack with 3 tablespoons of the rub. Turn the ribs, meat side down, and tightly seal each foil pouch. Place on a half sheet pan and refrigerate overnight. The next day, heat the oven to 250 degrees F. Combine the orange juice and margarita mix in a liquid measuring cup. Open 1 end of each pouch and evenly divide the liquid between the 2 pouches. Reseal...

I made this for dinner last week. It was super tasty, and easy to put together. adapted from Annie's Eats 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp. herbes de provence (or a combination of other dried herbs such as basil, parsley, oregano, thyme) ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (we used skinless thighs) 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. butter 2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms 1 (14 oz.) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained 2/3 cup dry white wine 2/3 cup chicken broth Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving In a pie plate or shallow dish, combine the flour, dried herbs, salt and pepper and stir with a fork to blend. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture. Using tongs, coat the chicken breast halves in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Remove the chicken to a plate; co...