Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa

Stuffed peppers usually have rice in them but a healthier version of this flavorful dish is accomplished by substituting cooked quinoa.  It is easier to cook than rice and has a pleasing chewy texture that really makes this dish pop!

Ingredients:
8 bell peppers; red peppers taste the best with this recipe
1/2 cup dried quinoa
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup diced white onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T dried oregano
3 T Worcestershire Sauce
*1/2 lb lean hamburger
15 oz diced tomato (fresh or low sodium canned)
15 oz corn (can be fresh, low sodium canned, or frozen)
1 cup grated colby jack divided in 1/2
dash of salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of water

1. Prep your peppers. Bell peppers can have funny shapes to them.  You can either cut them in half lengthwise (pictured above) or cut off the end that is the pointiest. You want the peppers to stand level in the pan. Once you have decided how your pepper will lie best in the baking dish, then clean out the ribs and the seed ball, making sure you leave the stem intact. If you cut off the stem side of the pepper then you will automatically remove the stem. Place your peppers in a 9x12 pan open side up and set aside.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cook your quinoa.  Rinse your 1/2 cup of quinoa well.  Then in a small sauce pot add your quinoa and 1 cup of your water to a rolling boil. Put the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to low and let cook for about 15 minutes.  The quinoa will soak up all of the water just like rice.  Be sure to check it after 15 mins. If there is any water still in the pot just put the lid back on until it is all absorbed.  Take it off the heat and set aside.
3. While the quinoa is cooking, dice your onions, tomatoes (if fresh), and peppers.  Grate your cheese and set aside. Mince your 3 garlic cloves and measure out your corn.
4.  In a skillet, brown your hamburger with the onions and peppers till translucent. Add the garlic, oregano and Worcestershire Sauce and cook till fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
5. Add your tomatoes and the corn and cook through till thoroughly mixed.  Add the cooked quinoa and mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Mix till combined.
7. Fill the cavities of your prepared peppers.  Use all the filling.

8. Pour the remaining 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.
9. Remove foil and top with remaining cheese and cook for another 5-6 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!  They go really well with cornbread and lemonade.
*For a meatless option, just omit the hamburger and double the quinoa. Saute the veggies without the meat and follow remaining instructions.


Total prep time 30 minutes.
Total cook time 30 minutes.

Brownie Recipes; which one WON!

I started cooking to see how many pre-made and boxed items I was buying from the grocery store, could be made in my home kitchen.  I have been through BBQ Sauce, Mayonnaise, Mustard, Ketchup, Bread, Pie Crust, the list goes on and on.  My latest conquest, the Brownie.
Brownie mixes from the store have gotten pretty good.  It is hard to beat the ease of a boxed mix when you are craving that chocolaty, gooey, yumminess.  I have tried many recipes over the last few years trying to find the perfect brownie recipe and I have finally conquered that mountain.  My criteria for a good brownie are as follows:
1. Crackly top when baked, not greasy.
2. Fudge center.
3. I wanted a high rise to fill the depth of the 8x8 pan.
4. Ease of ingredients.  Nothing I couldn't find in my local grocery store.
5. They had to have super chocolate flavor.  No bland brownies.

I started with a recipe I found online from http:/www.handletheheat.com/ultimate-brownies/
Tessa is the author of this recipe and she has hit a home run.  She has balanced the ingredients well and her use of butter rather than cooking oil nets a lovely crumble topping that is nice and crackled when baked.  Her addition of an extra egg yolk gives a richness and depth to the batter and provides the lift needed to fill the pan without the brownie becoming cake like. The mixture of chocolate is what gives this recipe an A+.  Her use of semi-sweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate gives these brownies their Wow! factor.

The second recipe I tried I have yet to find the author of.  I found a copy of it in my recipe book and it has no identifying authorship on it.  The claim is, "Never buy boxed brownie mix again!" I am sure that is what caught my eye and why I have this anonymous recipe.  It calls for:
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup All-purpose flour
1/3 Cup cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
Combine in a bowl and add all at once
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp Vanilla
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 mins.
This recipe came out flat in the pan and tasted very bland.  There wasn't much of a chocolate punch and as the brownies cooled the edges became very hard and difficult to cut and chew. I give it a D.

I decided to play with it a bit and added another egg, bumped up the baking powder to 1/2 tsp, and added 1/4 cup chocolate sauce.  I also threw in some chocolate chips for fun.
This bake came out much higher in the pan and was a little more chocolatey tasting but not much.  If you didn't bite into a chocolate chip then the chocolate punch just wasn't there. My improvements brought this recipe up to about a B- but they still weren't matching Tessa's recipe.

 You can see from this picture how flat the brownies are and how much adding an extra egg helped with their lift. You can also see from the pictures the brownies did not go to waste. My family eats all my experiments!
Both recipes had a greasy look to the top of them too. I have found adding oil to brownies increased its lack of flavor.  Butter adds a richness that can't be matched by cooking oil.
Whipping up the sugar and the eggs together is necessary for proper brownie chemistry.  I have also found that cocoa powder needs to be dissolved in hot water before adding it to batter in order for the chocolate flavor to come out. This dump it in a bowl recipe is a nice thought but requires some technique to come out better in the end. Even if the texture could be improved the flavor is just too poor for it to be a good brownie.
Brownies need a mixture of chocolate in order to deliver on their chocolate power punch.  When cocoa powder is the only type of chocolate brownies just fall flat. 
I really wanted something to replace the box mix from the grocery store and the recipe from Handle the Heat has won me over.  I can easily make up a box kit from the ingredients and have several brownie mixes on hand for the next big chocolate craving.  

Nothing New Here

This past year has been difficult to say the least.  I am now in my mid 40's and it is kicking my butt.  I have learned new terms I now have to associate with my life like, Peri-menapausal, and pre-hypertension.  Every time I go to the Dr. I am asked when my last Mammogram was.  Mostly, being in your 40's is about going to the Dr. and feeling violated but being assured it is all for your own good.  I am not so sure about that but since it is a new year I am taking back my body.  The Dr.'s and mid-forties can't have it anymore.
Over the last couple of years I have gleefully accepted the gift of 20 additional new pounds that reside in my belly and my butt. They haven't really bothered me except when I want to wear pants but I have found that if I simply buy new, bigger pants it solves the problem.  My personal call to action came when my heart started yelling at me and then my Dr.  I get to take a tiny little pill everyday now if I am going to continue to nurture my 20lb fat baby and it is kind of a hassle sooo....decision time.  I suppose the 20lbs will have to go.  I am a little sad about it because I worked really hard on it.  Chicken Fried Steak and mashed potatoes with that amazing white gravy was carefully selected to be my path to fatness.  Eating whatever you want, whenever you want, and not really exercising is awesome! It was a great ride.  Feeling like garbage all the time was just an annoying side effect. 
What happens now? Salad, veggies, lean meat and fish, and the dreaded EXERCISE! The food part hasn't been too bad.  Thankfully there are wonderful little recipe posts everywhere on Facebook and an entire population of people who are committed to us all eating healthier.  I am grateful for the support and yet, I want that Chicken Fried Steak. I am sure there is healthy version on the internet somewhere. A well meaning healthy person tried to make it low calorie and low fat and made something that tastes like my leather shoes.  Thanks for trying healthy person.  Good effort but you are missing the point entirely.  It is supposed to be horrible for your body.  That is what makes it taste so amazing.  The fat and the calories are necessary for the orgasmic groan that happens when you put it in your mouth.
I have started walking and even ran for 1 whole minute today.  Believe me, it's an accomplishment.  I do feel better and I like salads.  I used to buy lettuce just so it could rot in my fridge but now I actually take it out and make it into something.  It turns out just owning healthy food and being in close proximity to it doesn't make you healthier. 
I have begun to calculate exactly how much I will have to move to justify a Chicken Fried Steak meal and I will get there.  It was just take a while.  It is crazy what can motivate you to get healthy.  My motivation is to get my body working well enough again so that it can metabolize the meal that got me here in the first place. I could try to be normal and just want to fit into my favorite smaller size clothes but I came to terms with that failed dream years ago.
I have been here before, trying to loose extra weight that is crushing my skeletal frame.  I have had three children and have always liked Chicken Fried Steak and butter and cream.  I don't feel like I need to give any of it up, just moderate its presence in my life.  It has been one week and I am doing pretty good.  I haven't dropped 10lbs or anything like those infomercials say will happen, but I do feel better and am sleeping better which is a huge win as far as I am concerned. I don't own a scale either. It seems a bit misogynistic to traumatize myself everyday.   I have no idea how much I weigh and I really don't care.  My pants will tell me when I am good. 
Loosing weight is like saying goodbye to an old friend.  Not really the fat but definitely the lifestyle.  Forty somethings don't have the luxury of living a carefree food life anymore.  You twenty somethings, just wait.  It is coming for you. Stock up on the Tums now.