Stuffed Peppers

heat oven to 450 degrees

Cut 6 bell pepper in half.  Clean out the insides leaving the stem on the pepper.  Use olive oil and lightly oil the peppers.  Sprinkle with a little salt.  Place cut side down in a 13 x 9 pan.  Roast for 20 minutes until tender.

Filling:

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 poblano pepper, finely chopped
1 cup of finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped Cremini mushrooms

Sautee the above ingredients in about a hot cast iron skillet.  Once the vegetables begin to soften and sweat

Add:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Continue to saute

Add:

5 small cloves of garlic, minced

Cook until the garlic begins to let out its oil.

Add:

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Cook until the mixture is all combined.

Add:

Tomato basil spaghetti sauce just until the mixture comes together.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.

Spoon filling into the pepper halves.  Place in the 13 x 9 pan used for roasting the bell peppers.  Top peppers with some grated Monterrey Jack cheese and some grated Pecorino Romano cheese.  Bake until heated thoroughly which was about 15 to 20 minutes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Radishes and Cauliflower

1 pound Brussels sprouts
1 bunch radishes
1/2 head cauliflower
1 onion, cut into eighths
2 tablespoons, olive oil or coconut oil
2 teaspoons sea salt

Trim Brussels sprouts of woody stem as well as any yellow leaves.  Cut in half.  Clean and trim radishes.  Wash and cut cauliflower into similar sized pieces as the Brussels sprouts.  In a gallon Ziploc bag or a large Tupperware container, place 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1/2 of the veggies.  Toss to coat completely.  Place in a oiled shallow roasting pan.  Repeat with remaining olive oil and sea salt.  Top veggies with a few more sprinkles of  sea salt.  Roast at 425 between 30 and 40 minutes depending on the doneness.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Notes:

Can serve with freshly grated Pecorino Romano OR with English walnuts or toasted almonds or pine nuts.  Pecorino Romano cheese is made from sheep's milk and for my family this is considered dairy free.

Truffle Risotto

Ever buy an ingredient for some dish only to store it in the pantry for weeks waiting for that moment when the fear of cooking that one dish is gone?  Been there.  Yep, I have!

Arborio rice meant for risotto has graced my pantry shelves......well, let's just say a long time.  Finally last week, I took the dive.

OH MY!  Yes, it was labor intensive but so worth it.  Coupled with a roasted chicken and roasted veggies it was not too labor intensive for the meal.  By pairing it with "easy" dishes that require little labor at the time meal prep, risotto can be quite calming to make.

Basic Risotto
compliments of Giada deLaurentiis

• 4 cups of gf chickenbroth
• 2 tablespoons of butter or dairy free butter
• ¾ cup of finely chopped sweet onion (about 1 small onion)
• 1½ cups of Arborio rice
• ½ cup of dry white wine
• ½ cup of freshly grated Pecarion Romano cheese
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• In a Medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat.
• In a large heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes.
• Add ½ cup of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice adding the broth ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rise is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and the salt and pepper. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and serve immediately.
  

My notes:

(1) I used my cast iron dutch oven.

(2) Per Giada's notes in her Everyday Italian Cookbook, I decided to saute my portabello mushrooms in the Dutch oven before beginning the basic risotto.  I sauteed them in about 2 -3 teaspoons of Truffle Oil.  Oh my was that good!  After sauteing the mushrooms, I removed them from the pan and set them aside for later.  Cooking veggies for 30 minutes in the risotto will result in overcooked, limp and flavorless veggies.  By cooking them prior to the risotto, you maintain the flavor and the texture of the veggies.  This is also true if you are planning on adding any type of seafood, prosciutto or already cooked chicken.

(3) Due to the dairy allergies that exist in our family, I substituted Earth Balance Buttery Spread for the butter and Pecorino Romano cheese for the Parmesan cheese.  I also only used a small about of the Earth Balance, substituting some Truffle oil to enhance and deepen the flavor of the risotto.

(4) I ended up using closer to 5 cups of chicken broth before the risotto was done.
 
(5) Once the risotto was done, I added the previously sauteed mushrooms with a small amount of truffle oil.

Shrimp and Linguini

8 oz gf linguini
1 tablespoon butter or dairy free butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, sliced
1 - 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1 lb medium count shrimp, deveined
1/2 c dry white wine

(1)  Fix linguini according to directions.  Rinse and set aside

(2) Melt butter over medium high heat.  Add olive oil.  Add shallots and cook for 5 minutes.  Add minced garlic.  Cook for 1 minute.

(3) Add sliced mushrooms.  Cook over medium high heat until almost all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated (about 20 minutes).

(4) Add shrimp.  Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

(5) Add dry white wine to deglaze pan.

(6) Toss with linguini noodles.

(7) Stir in grated cheese.  Serve in preheated pasta bowls or on preheated plates with a sprig of fresh basil on the side.

I served this with a fresh salad and some freshly made garlic herb bread.

Notes:  Next time I make this will only use 5 - 6 oz of linguini as I had so much leftover.  Not all the linguini would fit into the pan and toss well at least for me.  For the butter I used Earth Balance's Soy Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free "butter".  Pecorino Romano is a sheep's milk cheese which is a great substitute for our family.

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Quinoa

This recipe can be found on the back of the Trader Joe`s Organic Quinoa box.  It is quite delicious and an easy introduction to quinoa if you have never tried it before now.

1 cup organic quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
4 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
20 leaves fresh sweet basil, julienne
Pecarino romano cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

Rinse quinoa in cold water and drain, repeat.  In 2 quart saucepan, add 2 cups chicken broth and 1 cup quinoa.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Quinoa will appear translucent and will be soft.  The germ ring will be visible along the outside edge of the grain.

While quinoa is cooking, cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.  Heat large skillet over high heat and add oil.  Add chicken and saute for 5 minute until golden brown.  Add onions and bell peppers, saute for 1 to 2 minutes until peppers become slightly limp but still bright in color.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat; add basil and quinoa.  Toss until basil wilts.  Sprinkle with Pecarino romano cheese.  Serve hot.  Will serve approximately four.

Note:  I also added some toasted pine nuts to what I served at home.  For those of you unfamiliar with Pecarino romano cheese it is made from sheep's milk (Pecarino) and is a great substitute for romano.  It is somewhat more salty so I typically do not add salt to the recipe.  We are able to use it in place of a cow's romano due to a dairy allergy in the family.

Baked Kale

We all know or hear that green leafy vegetables are good for us. Most of us however don't really care for overcooked "greens". This is one way of getting your serving of green leafy vegetables that tastes Y-U-M-M-Y! I kid you not!


DG was so excited to have these for dinner last night! There were no leftovers....in fact there were not enough to go around for seconds. :)

Baked Kale

1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Garlic powder or dried, minced garlic

Wash kale thoroughly. I usually wash it two or three times and then finish off with a rinse in a salad spinner. Remove the thick stalk part of the leaf. Place the dried off kale into a gallon Ziploc bag. Add olive oil and sea salt. Toss until kale is completely covered. Place in a 13 x 9 baking dish with a rack. (Make sure to use a rack to lift the kale off of the bottom of the pan or it will get soggy.) Sprinkle garlic powder on to taste.

Bake at 375 for approximately 15 minutes. Halfway through the baking time, use a pair of tongs and turn the kale over. Bake until kale is crispy. :)

Remove from oven and place on a plate. Season with some freshly coarsely grated sea salt. Be careful not to add too much.

Yummy additions:

2-3 tablespoons of roasted/toasted pine nuts or
2-3 tablespoons of English walnuts


AND


2 -3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (Since we have dairy allergies in the family, we use Pecarino Romano which is Romano cheese made entirely from sheep's milk.)


The additions are not necessary. The baked kale is good without it but they add the WOW factor when serving company.