Stuffed Peppers

A friend gave me this recipe and I've decided it needs to be a staple in our recipe collection.  Delicious, a great way to use up bell peppers, and a beautiful dish!

4 bell peppers 
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 lb ground beef
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 cup cheese
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
*Corn, canned or frozen - optional
*Chopped bell peppers - optional

Heat oil in skillet.  Add onion and garlic.  Cook 5 min. Stir in cumin and beef. Cook 5 min.  Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, ketchup, and salt.  Stir to mix.  Remove from heat.  Stir in rice, cheese, corn.  Spoon into peppers. Top with parsley.  Cook 40 min at 350 degrees.

**My friend Charise who gave me the recipe added these notes: Okay so here are my alterations. I added the corn to the recipe, so if you don't like it, don't add it. Also, I add some chopped peppers of different colors to the rice mixture just to add some color to it all.  Also, the cooking instructions seemed kind of silly with all the 5 min
intervals. I cook the onion, garlic, beef, and cumin all together, mix in the sauces, then add everything else basically at the same time.  Sometimes I cut the peppers in half top to bottom, and other times I have just sliced the very top off to fill them, depending on how big of portions I want that night. Such a pretty dinner though once they are all done. Ya almost hate that you have to cut and eat them!

Grasshopper Dessert

Okay this recipe is so good it should almost be top secret (sorry the picture is so poor--I'll try to get a better one next time I make it).  I realized that if I didn't get this on the blog and then somehow lost the recipe one day, I would be extremely sad plus I knew you wonderful ladies, needed this recipe!

1 pkg. Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers (call me if you don't know what this is; I had to search the baking isle before I figured it out)
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 gal. chocolate chip mint ice cream
1-16 oz.can of Hershey Chocolate Fudge topping (or Mrs. Richardson's)
1-8 oz. tub Cool Whip

The day before (at least): Crumble chocolate wafers fine.  (Reserve 2 Tbsp. without any butter for topping)
Mix remaining crumbs with the melted butter.  Spread evenly on bottom of 9 x 13" pan.  Soften the ice cream; pour on top of crumbs.  Freeze until solid.
The next day: Soften fudge in the microwave about 30 seconds.  Spread fudge in the microwave about 30 seconds.  Spread fudge topping on ice cream layer.
Finish with a layer of Cool Whip then sprinkle reserved crumbs on top.
Freeze until firm.

Mango and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

This is so tasty.  I will have to take a picture the next time I make it to put on the blog because it was so delicious, we just ate it all up! 

*Note: The recipe calls for cooked quinoa. I used about 3/4 cup dry quinoa and cooked it in chicken broth to get the 2 cups cooked (I measured out the two cups cooked and had a bit leftover in the pot).

*Serves 4-6

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooked in vegetable or chicken broth, at room temperature or chilled

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium mango, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

4 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Place the cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add mango, red pepper, green onion, black beans, and cilantro.

In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice. Whisk until the dressing is smooth and pour on top of salad. Toss to combine and add salt and pepper (add more to taste if desired). Chill the salad for at least one hour before serving.

From melskitchencafe.com

Cabbage Chicken Salad

Cabbage Chicken Salad

1 pkg chicken ramen noodles broken
2 C shredded (chopped) cabbage (I use more since I love cabbage and the dressing is normally a little more than you'd need for just two cups - I do half a head of cabbage if it's a large and the entire thing if it's a small one)
1 C cubed cooked chicken
1/4 C sliced green onion

Dressing
3 tbsp Sesame oil
2 tbsp sugar
1/3 C white vinegar
2 tbsp water
4 tsp veg oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
packet of chicken seasoning from ramen noodles

Put dressing ingredients in a container with a tight lid and shake well for 30 seconds to mix (I use Jared's protein shake cup/lid).  Pour on salad and toss to coat.  YUM - one of our very favorites to throw together and eat or take to potlucks (I am always asked for the recipe).  If I don't have something, I don't use it and it doesn't seem to have made a huge difference (like the sesame oil or green onion) so feel free to moderate.  ENJOY!