My sister just arrived in town a few days ago! How nice it is to have family close by again. When we are both at home, she is my partner in crime in the kitchen. Somehow we both managed to develop a love for cooking, despite growing up on "fast" food. My sister credits it to the fact that we had to teach ourselves how to cook "out of necessity". I think it just skipped a generation (both sets of grandparents love to cook). Either way, it is always a joy to be able to cook with my little sister. She's only been here a few days and we've already come up with a handful of meals we'd like to cook. Right now we have a quinoa pilaf on the stove, a perfect side to accompany this delectable dish.
Speaking of, you are probably curious just how to craft these tasty morsels. I almost never buy mini peppers, but happened to be at the store the other day and they were on sale. A miracle! At that point, I had no idea what I would do with them, just knew that I would use them for something. Who can pass down a sale on peppers? The inspiration for the stuffing came from a recipe of Kris Carr's. She makes these delicious Crazy Sexy Quesadillas with avocado and pinto beans. The quesadillas are incredible, and I also had Chevre on hand, so I thought to myself, why not combine all three ingredients together? And yes, as you may have guessed, the result was, well, simply delectable.
Mini Stuffed Peppers
with avocado, pinto beans and chevre
~ Serves 4-8 ~
Ingredients:
~ 8 (or however many you have) mini sweet peppers
~ 2 cups pinto beans, cooked (if from a can, wash to remove excess salt)
~ 1/4 cup diced onion
~ 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
~ 2 tablespoons dried chili pepper, minced
~ 3/4 cup vegetable stock
~ 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
~ 1 avocado
~ 4 oz chevre
~ olive oil
In a large sauce pan, heat 1 teaspoon olive over medium-high heat. Add in diced onion, cumin and chili pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
Add pinto beans, vegetable stock and salt. Bring heat up to a boil and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Once the beans are quite tender and flavorful, remove from heat. Using an immersion blender (or potato masher), blend beans until you get the consistency of refried beans.
Mix in the avocado and chevre, until you get a nice creamy consistency. The chevre should melt into the mixture. If needed, put the pan back on the heat over low to get everything melted.
While the beans are cooking, slice off the top of each pepper. Place the tops aside.... do not discard! You will use them again when filling the peppers.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place the stuffed peppers on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the peppers begin to roast (appear golden/brown on the outside). The stuffing will also have a nice browned appearance.
Serve as appetizers, or as a main dish on a bed of spinach. Although they will keep in the fridge for a few days, they are best fresh out of the oven. Bon Appetit!
Food For Thought: Family Meals
~ How many of us actually sit down with our family or friends to eat a home-cooked dinner? How many times a week does this occur? Once, twice a week? Everyday? Or almost never? According to a study conducted by the USDA, Americans get 32% of their calories from eating out....in other words 1/3 of our calories come from fast food, restaurants or other 'on-the-go' sources. Even if you may not fit this statistic exactly, it still sheds light onto the (very important) fact that a large portion of our meal time is spent away from the family dinner table. What sort of consequences does this hold? Besides the nutritional facts (we could go on and on about those), how does eating out affect our relationships? The time we spend with our family? Thirty years ago, going out to eat was a treat reserved for special occasions. A birthday dinner perhaps, or an anniversary. How and why has this become the norm? Over the next week, I encourage you to take note about your dinner times, whether they be at home or at a restaurant. How do you feel after eating out vs. eating at home? Try to think about how the meal (and the environment) affected your physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. Can you tell a difference? Let me know if any of this holds true to you!
~ 8 (or however many you have) mini sweet peppers
~ 2 cups pinto beans, cooked (if from a can, wash to remove excess salt)
~ 1/4 cup diced onion
~ 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
~ 2 tablespoons dried chili pepper, minced
~ 3/4 cup vegetable stock
~ 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
~ 1 avocado
~ 4 oz chevre
~ olive oil
In a large sauce pan, heat 1 teaspoon olive over medium-high heat. Add in diced onion, cumin and chili pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
Add pinto beans, vegetable stock and salt. Bring heat up to a boil and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Once the beans are quite tender and flavorful, remove from heat. Using an immersion blender (or potato masher), blend beans until you get the consistency of refried beans.
Mix in the avocado and chevre, until you get a nice creamy consistency. The chevre should melt into the mixture. If needed, put the pan back on the heat over low to get everything melted.
While the beans are cooking, slice off the top of each pepper. Place the tops aside.... do not discard! You will use them again when filling the peppers.
Using a small teaspoon, fill each pepper with the stuffing. You can fill the peppers as full as you would like. I filled them pretty full, which caused some of the filling to spill out as it cooked.... however, this is also gave the (spilled) filling a nice crust.
Serve as appetizers, or as a main dish on a bed of spinach. Although they will keep in the fridge for a few days, they are best fresh out of the oven. Bon Appetit!
Food For Thought: Family Meals
~ How many of us actually sit down with our family or friends to eat a home-cooked dinner? How many times a week does this occur? Once, twice a week? Everyday? Or almost never? According to a study conducted by the USDA, Americans get 32% of their calories from eating out....in other words 1/3 of our calories come from fast food, restaurants or other 'on-the-go' sources. Even if you may not fit this statistic exactly, it still sheds light onto the (very important) fact that a large portion of our meal time is spent away from the family dinner table. What sort of consequences does this hold? Besides the nutritional facts (we could go on and on about those), how does eating out affect our relationships? The time we spend with our family? Thirty years ago, going out to eat was a treat reserved for special occasions. A birthday dinner perhaps, or an anniversary. How and why has this become the norm? Over the next week, I encourage you to take note about your dinner times, whether they be at home or at a restaurant. How do you feel after eating out vs. eating at home? Try to think about how the meal (and the environment) affected your physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. Can you tell a difference? Let me know if any of this holds true to you!
No comments:
Post a Comment