Töltött Káposzta- Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

In so many many ways, I am a carbon copy of my mother. I ended up with so many of her traits, mannerisms, and special quirks (umm... like my love for pretty things... furry four legged things... and men just like my father.) But, one thing that I got from my dad was my passion for cooking.

Just like his mother (my grandmother), my father is not just a cook, but a phenomenal chef. I mean, when my Dad had the day off work, we knew dinner would be something special that night. (Except that time he made spinach soup... which is something we will never let him live down). My Hungarian grandmother, Ama, as we like call her, is probably the best chef that I have ever met in my life. And, since she taught my dad everything she knew... my dad was able to teach it to me. Now, it probably would have been better if I had been eager to learn how to cook when I was a bratty teenager before moving to LA, but no. I chose to learn over many panicked phone calls after moving to Los Angeles and having no idea how to feed myself!

When I was fresh to LA and missing my family, I would always cook Paprikash (now one of Rich's favorites too... I will post the recipe one day, I promise). For me, hungarian food has always had a way of making me feel right at home. Now that I'm married and not so lonely, I almost always cook something Hungarian when Rich and I are craving comfort food, just like my dad... and my Ama. So... when Richard and I both woke up with nasty colds this morning (UGH!) and could use a little comforting, that is exactly what I decided to do....

Töltött Káposzta, or Hungarian stuffed cabbage, is actually not something that my dad made often, but the great thing about Hungarian food is that the flavors are always the same. It's what Anthony Bourdain refers to as peasant food, and as you can imagine, back in the day peasants only had access to very limited ingredients, usually of the root vegetable variety. The cabbage (a staple of Hungarian cuisine) is stuffed with beef, paprika, onions, caraway seeds (you'll see, keep reading)...  So, since I was itching to try something new, this seemed like just the dish... something new with a little taste of home to treat the adventure in my spirit and the sniffle in my nose.

Now, don't be intimidated... there are a lot of ingredients, and a lot of steps, but if you have the time, this dish is actually much easier than it seems... and HOLY DELICIOUS!

Töltött Káposzta

Ingredients:
For the cabbage leaves-
1 head of cabbage
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup apple cider vinegar

For the meat filling- 
1/2 onion, diced
1 pound ground beef (preferably grass fed)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1 tsp caraway seeds
3/4 cup rice
Salt and cracked pepper to taste

For the sauce- 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
10 ounces tomato paste
16 ounces sauerkraut, drained (available at most grocery stores, I found it at Whole Foods)
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1/2 tablespoon caraway seeds
2 cups water
Salt and cracked pepper to taste

To garnish-
Sour cream or greek yogurt (I always use greek yogurt!)

Method:
For the cabbage leaves-
Cut the core out of the cabbage. Put the head of cabbage, bay leaves, spices, and vinegar in a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Heat the ingredients on high and bring to a boil. Cook for 20- 30 minutes until the cabbage leaves have softened. Drain and let cool.

For the meat filling and stuffing the cabbage-
In a large bowl, combine meat, onion, egg, garlic, spices, and rice. Mix with your hands until just combined. Do not over mix.

Lay a single cabbage leave on your cutting board or work space. Remove any leftover hard stem that wasn't already removed when you cut out the core. Put a spoonful of meat filling the the center of the leaf. Fold the bottom (stem side) of the leaf up, each side in, and then roll the cabbage leaf up toward the unfolded part (have I lost you, yet?) You will then tuck the open end of the leaf into the roll. It should be pretty secured and look like a little envelope, or an innie belly button.

Continue to make the rolls until you are out of cabbage leaves, placing them in a baking dish as you go. Once finished, refrigerate the rolls while you prepare the sauce.

For the sauce:
Drain and rinse the sauerkraut. You do not want it to taste sour. Squeeze out the water and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and bell peppers until translucent. Add spices and garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add the tomato paste and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer. If it is too think, add a little more water. Once the sauce is simmering, add the sauerkraut and cook for 20-30 minutes, letting the flavors deepen.

To assemble-
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

In a large baking dish, pour half of the sauerkraut sauce. Layer the cabbage rolls with the seam facing down/ towards you. You want to place them in fairly tight rows so that they will not loosen up while they are baking.

Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls, cover tightly with foil, and bake at 425 for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is cooked through and the rice is tender.

Serve topped with sour cream or greek yogurt!

Short Rib Bolognese

I am less than thrilled to report that I have caught one of the nasty bugs that's floating around town. Yup, I currently have a 102 degree fever (which is not the kind of hot I like to be) and a very cranky attitude (which is not kind of bitchy I like to be.) And, while I am much more lucky than most and have the freedom in my schedule to indulge my immune system with 48 hours of couch ridden movie watching, I am still very mad. Sick and tired and mad... or as Rich would say, "Somebody please help me." 

Right now, there are two very big problems that I am having with being sick. Firstly, at this very moment in my fridge, there is a fresh black truffle from Burgundy, France. I know... I am one lucky ginger... (or "zhan-zhay" as I say when I'm being fancy.) You see, this truffle was bought to be shaved over uova da raviolo tonight at a dinner that I have been really been looking forward to hosting. A dinner that has been scheduled for nearly six weeks. A dinner that due to my germ-ridden-self, now has to be rescheduled. 

Secondly, also calling my refrigerator home is a very large tupperware container filled with homemade pasta tossed with a decadent short rib bolognese. Why is this a problem? Because my sick ass is eating chicken soup instead. Ok, maybe I'm being slightly dramatic, but I had to tie my "poor me, I am sick" pity party to my bolognese recipe somehow, right? But, let's focus on what's important, shall we?

Short rib bolognese. I know, I had never thought of it either... and neither had the sweet boy helping me at our butcher shop. His mind was blown when I told him why I had requested 2 pounds of short rib to be ground up for me. You see, Richard are I were at McCalls Meat & Fish Co. last weekend and brought home short rib and gruyere sausages, which was one of the most delicious things that I have ever put in my mouth. And then these sausages got me thinking... why don't people use short ribs for everything!? Ok, maybe not everything, it would probably make a terrible face cream, plus it's pretty fatty and Pilates can only do so much... but, every once in a while, a little indulgence is good for you! And that, my friends, is how this recipe came into play. 

Unless you are much fancier than I am and have a meat grinder at home (hint hint, dear husband,) you will need a butcher to grind the meat for you but, trust me when I say that, this is one of the tastiest, most decadent bolognese sauces that I have ever had... let alone made! 

You can, of course, substitute the ground short rib for a more traditional blend of ground beef, veal, and pork, but then you may as well make split pea soup with turkey bacon. And that, for me, is a fate worse than this immobilizing infection.

Homemade Fettuccine & Short Rib Bolognese

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped 
2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped
2 pounds ground short rib
1 cup dry red wine
3 cups (isn) beef stock or chicken stock, divided
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk

Homemade fettuccine... find my recipe HERE!

(if you must use store bought pasta, look for a fresh egg pasta!)
Finely grated Parmesan 

Method:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Sauté until soft, 8-10 minutes.  Add the ground short rib and sauté, breaking up with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes. Make sure that you brown the meat all the way, that is where a lot of the flavor comes from! Add wine and reduce 2-3 minutes, stirring often and scraping up browned bits. Add tomato paste and then the stock, stirring to blend. Reduce heat to very low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally. As the liquid reduces, continue to add more stock. Cook for about 2-3 hours.
• Bring milk to a simmer in a small saucepan and then gradually add it to the meat sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk is absorbed, about 45 minutes. 
  
  
  Serve over pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. 
  Makes about 8 servings. 

Guinness Beer Braised Beef Brisket (it's a mouthful!)

Happy Monday. According to British researchers the first Monday of the year is statistically the MOST depressing day of the year. But not for me. For me, it's a day of triumph. Over mind, matter and meat.

You know those days when you are quietly keeping to yourself in your miserable post-wine-induced-couch-coma, just watching a little food porn, while waiting for delivery pizza? Don't lie. We both know that you do. Anyways. Food porn. You know what it is. I know what it is. And, a few days ago, while I was minding my own business in the lovely aforementioned scenario, I got really, really food horny. Which, according to Rich, looks very similar to the "real thing" and is very confusing for him. And yup, I went there. 

We were watching some wonderfully over-produced show where a semi-overweight man was stuffing his face with tender, fatty BBQ (it is much "food-sexier" than it sounds...) when I got the overwhelming desire to cook the biggest piece of meat that my butcher could cut for me. I'd pick it up early in the morning and spend the next 36 hours with it. You know, one of those day dates that turns into dinner and "stuff."  So, our butcher got a visit from his favorite ginger and I headed home with a nice, big piece of meat. (Note: Rich said this is the one of the only times he's okay with me "talking about spending so much time with another piece of meat." He's dirty. So are you. Get your mind out of the gutter)

I think that brisket might be the most underrated cut of meat... EVER. It is pretty much perfect in every way if you can give it the kind of love and attention it demands. You have to warm it up nice and slow...to temperature! Jeez, now I'm being dirty. Oh well, this recipe deserves my unrequited lust. Brisket needs to be cooked low and slow and pretty much wooed into the juicy, tender perfection it's capable of. And since it's winter and the smoker is off for now, I decided the best woman to guide me through the process was one of my personal favorites, Suzanne Goin. So, I broke out my Sunday Suppers at Luque's cookbook and found a superb recipe that I followed pretty much to the 'T.' I paired the brisket with beluga lentils and sautéed broccolini with garlic and shallots and everything turned out absolutely perfectly. Plus, the best part of my day today was eating last night's leftovers for lunch. Absolutely DELICIOUS!

*Note that you need to marinate the brisket with the dry rub at least 24 hours before cooking. You can also cook the brisket 24 hours in advance for a dinner party. It can be served hot or chilled. Ok, that's all of the notes... now to the good stuff...

Ingredients:
1 beef brisket, about 5-6 pounds with a 1/2 inch fat cap. Do not have your butcher remove the fat cap, it is essential for moist and flavorful cooking. 
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves, crumbled
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
3 chilies de arbol, crumbled with your hands (do NOT touch your face after... ouchie...)
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
2 stalks of celery, cut into thirds
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cups Guinness Beer
4 cups beef stock

Method:
Combine the thyme leaves, garlic, bay leaves, chilies de arbol, and cracked pepper and rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the brisket. Place the brisket in a shallow baking dish, cover, and refrigerate over night. 

Take the brisket out of the refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking it to bring it to room temperature. 30 minutes before, season the meat with salt. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

Heat the olive oil over high heat in the largest sauté pan you have. Scrape the garlic and chiles off the brisket and reserve them. When the oil is shimmering, add the brisket and sear well on both sides—you may have to do one end of the brisket at a time, depending upon the diameter of your pan. It will take about 8 minutes per side, a bit more if you’re searing only a portion of the meat at one time. Once the meat is well browned, transfer to a large roasting pan or dutch oven, big enough to accommodate the entire piece of meat.

Add the vegetables to the sauté pan over medium high heat and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until they’re nicely caramelized. Stir often with a spoon to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan. 

Add the reserved garlic and chiles and cook another minute or two more. Turn down the heat and add the vinegar and the beer to the pan. Bring to a strong simmer and reduce the liquid by one-quarter. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan again to loosen any crusty bits on the bottom. 

Add the vegetables to the pan with the brisket, tucking them around the meat, and then carefully pour the hot stock mixture over the meat. Cover the pan tightly with foil—use two layers if it doesn’t have a lid, or one layer if your pan has a lid. 

Braise in the oven for 5 to 6 hours. The meat will be done when a fork slides into it easily.

When the meat is done, remove from the oven.  Let it cool in its juices for 30 minutes, then remove the whole brisket from the sauce to a baking sheet. Allow it to cool completely, and cover and refrigerate if you’re not serving right away.

Strain the braising juices into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables to extract all their liquid. Chill the liquid, and when cold, remove the top layer of fat.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the cold brisket against the grain, and put back into a large roasting pan. Heat the braising sauce (you may want to allow it to reduce a bit to thicken—that’s up to you) and pour a bit over the meat enough to just cover the bottom of the pan and moisten the meat thoroughly. Put the roasting pan in the oven and cook about 20 minutes until the meat begins to get crispy on top. Serve with horseradish creme fraiche (recipe below.)

Horseradish Creme Fraiche
1 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream, but creme fraiche is preferred)
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Mix ingredients together. Serve over brisket. Even if you are not a fan of horseradish, this is quite possibly the most delicious sauce ever. 

Serve. Enjoy. Brag. Eat leftovers. 

Sous Vide Short Ribs and a Happy New Year!

Well, hello 2014!

You might remember me from way back in 2013. I know... it's been a while, but sometimes the very best things are worth waiting for! And also sometimes sitting down to write a blog seems so daunting you just decide not to do it. For MONTHS. But it's a new year, I've resolved to spend 2014 filling your computer screen with delicious new recipes, so here I am... ready for action with brand new recipes and some very fancy new Christmas presents.

It's not really news to anyone that Richard spoils me a little bit. Ok, a lot. And he really shines at Christmas time. I mean... REALLY shines... just like the beautiful copper pots that I found beneath the Christmas tree (no joke- I cried...best gift ever! (Until next year, of course!) If I learned one thing this Christmas, it was that my friends and family want to keep me in the kitchen and on the wine. I was gifted cases of wine (thanks mom and dad!), bottles of wine, gift cards for wine, and enough new kitchen toys to keep me busy and drunk for months. So message received... I get the less than subtle hint! Get back in the kitchen and get to work. Well between all the cookbooks, cookbooks, a few more cookbooks, the absolutely STUNNING copper pots (mentioned above and pictured below) and the fancy schmancy new sous vide Rich got me, I have plenty of sources for inspiration. 

A sous who now? A sous what now? A sous vide (sue-veed)... Yeah, I didn't really know what it was, either. I thought maybe the box had new running shoes in it, but no, quite the opposite (I think, I'm not sure what the opposite of running shoes are)! So, if you're curious, sous vide (French for "under vacuum") is a cooking method where food is vacuum sealed in airtight plastic bags and then cooked in a water bath at a low temperature (typically 130 degrees or so) for a longer than usual cooking time... up to 72 hours! Why? Because everything is cooked perfectly even and it stays INSANELY tender and juicy, thanks to the airtight seal. Annnnd the best part is, there's are no messy pots and pans to clean up after... brilliant!

Obviously, I needed to give this bad boy a go ASAP. Now, this recipe does take a little bit of planning ahead, because you have to start dinner 72 hours before you are ready to eat it. But, if I can manage it, you can, too! We happened to have some grass-fed bison short ribs in the freezer, because that's the life I live, one where exotic game meats just happen to be in my freezer. We had purchased them at our local farmer's market a few weeks back, and they turned out to be the perfect thing to test my new skills out on. I used my "go to" recipe for short ribs with a few obvious changes to adapt it to the sous vide cooking method and they turned out absolutely TO DIE FOR. (Fun fact: you can also find this recipe and a fun article on entertaining in the brand new edition of Indie Chick Magazine! Yup, I am published and in print! Woo! Find it HERE.)

One important note, bison tends to be much leaner than beef, so the ribs were naturally a little less decadent than normal grain fed beef short ribs. So, if you want to be healthy, go bison, if you want to be in heaven, go beef. After all, there's a reason that no one has ever said "Bison, it's what's for dinner."

No sous vide? No problem! I was in your shoes mere weeks ago! Just scroll down for the traditional preparation method, that's just as tasty. I served my short ribs over creamy polenta, and it was the perfect meal to kick off 2014 with my husby!

Sous Vide Method:

Ingredients:
1 bottle of dry red wine
8 short ribs (ask your butcher for the meatier ones!)
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Method:
Preheat the water bath to 144 degrees. 
In a large saucepan, bring the wine to a boil and then light it on fire with a match. Once the flame dies down (it will take a couple of minutes) continue reducing the wine until you are left with half of the liquid. 

Generously season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and brown all three meaty sides of each short rib. Do not rush this step... let the ribs get nice and brown! 
Once browned, set the ribs aside and sauté the vegetables until beginning to caramelize, about 8 minutes. 

Add the reduced wine, balsamic vinegar, and stock to the vegetables and let the mixture cool completely. Once cooled, add one cup of the wine mixture to the ribs and place them in a vacuum sealed bad (we use the food saver machine.)

Place the vacuum sealed ribs into the water bath and cook for 72 hours. 

When ready to serve, carefully open the sealed bags and set the ribs aside. Strain the wine mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Place the short ribs into the reduced sauce to reheat. 

Standard Method:

Ingredients:

8 beef short ribs (ask your butcher for the meatier ones!)

1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves

Freshly cracked pepper

½ cup olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 bay leaf

Sprigs of fresh parsley

Springs of fresh thyme

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

3 cup of a hearty red wine

5 cups of beef stock

Kosher Salt

Method:

Season the short ribs with 1 tbsp ground thyme and freshly cracked pepper. Cover and refrigerate over night, or for at least a few hours. Bring the short ribs to room temperature. In a heavy Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Brown the short ribs on all three meaty sides, making sure not to over crowd them. This may take a few batches depending on the size of your Dutch oven. Once browned, set the ribs aside. Turn the heat down and sauté the onions, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaves until caramelized, about 5-7 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and wine. This step is called “de-glazing” and means to scrape up all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the liquid to half and then add the short ribs back to the Dutch oven. Add the beef stock so it is just covering the meat. Tuck in the parsley, cover, and braise in the oven at 325 degrees for about 3 hours, or until the meat is very tender. It should fall apart when pierced with a fork.

If you are preparing this ahead of time, you can stop here and continue the next steps just before serving.

Remove the short ribs from the pot and turn the oven up to 400 degrees. Place the short ribs on a baking sheet and brown them in the oven for about 12 minutes until they are caramelized. While the ribs are browning, strain the braising liquid and skim the fat. Reduce the braising liquid by half until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  

Pour the sauce over the ribs just before serving.

Where To Get a Sous Vide:
While they used to be prohibitively expensive for the home chef, the sous vide Rich got me is fantastic and pretty affordable ($199). For more info, or to order your very own, head on over to http://anovaculinary.com. Don't forget you'll also need to get a food saver or some sort of comparable vacuum sealing system as well. But it's not a bad thing to have in your kitchen arsenal, especially if you want to freeze meats and avoid freezer burn.

Happy New Year!

Borscht with Beef.

I know. Weird.
I can barely pronounce it either. But when you get past the awkward color and strange (to some) ingredients it is so yummy!
Borscht is a staple food in Eastern European cuisine and being from a Hungarian background I pretty much have a taste for beets and cabbage in my blood. This is a pretty healthy version... leaving out potatoes and cream and opting for greek yogurt (as usual) and lots of extra veggies.

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons canola oil

8 ounces flank steak cut into cubes

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

6 medium beets, peeled and shredded

2 cups green cabbage, shredded

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1 cup celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup red wine

6 cups beef stock

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup non fat greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Method:

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pot and heat over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the pot. Add beets, cabbage, carrots, onion and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the reserved mushrooms, broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and bring to a boil. Add meat and reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, covered, until the vegetables and meat are tender, about an hour.

Stir in the fresh dill before serving and garnish with yogurt and dill. 

Enjoy!

Smoked Mozzarella Stuffed Italian Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of those foods that is a little wishy washy for me. 

I absolutely love it.... but for some reason I am always a little embarrassed to admit it.

This is for one of two reasons:
1. Brussel sprout syndrom. 
You know they made you cringe until you went to some cool bistro last year and had them cooked in bacon fat until they were all crispy and dreamy. Your mom steamed them and made the house smell like your worst nightmare and you THOUGHT that you hated them.... until you knew what on earth you were talking about. There's a lot of reallllly really bad meatloaf recipes out there.... bringing us to reason #2.......

2. Housewife meatloaf.
You know the kind..... ketchup on top, served with mashed potatoes and always a little too dry... or very dry. 

But let me tell you something...... this is a new kind of housewife meatloaf. This is the kind you make for your hubby after your Amex bill comes and you've "accidentally" spent $300 at Nordstroms on "gym clothes" the week before. Orrrr if you are a good wife like me, the kind that you make because you loveeeee your new husband and this is the most delicious meatloaf ever. 

Man-food at it's absolute best. 

Ingredients: 

Meatloaf:

2/3 lb ground pork
1 3/4 lb ground beef (I always buy grass-fed)
1 c marinara*** (plus more for finishing) 
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 eggs
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons each fresh basil, oregano
1/2 cup onion, diced

Filling:
1/3 lb smoked mozzarella, grated
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1/3 cups parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup fresh spinach, cleaned and stems removed
1 roasted red pepper, diced

***I always ALWAYS use Rao's Marinara for everything. It is my absolute favorite. The best store bought sauce ever. 

Method:

Combine filling well and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine meat mixture well. Working on a sheet of parchment paper, use your hands to press the meat mixture into a rectangular, 1/4” thick sheet (use a sheet pan as a guide). Evenly spread filling mixture across meat, leaving a 1” border on long edges. Tightly roll meat, in jelly roll-style, carefully peeling back the paper as you go. Bake on a sheet pan, or in a loaf pan (wrapped in paper) for 45-60 min until 165° internal temp is reached. Let rest 10 min before slicing, topping with warm marinara, herbs and more Parmesan, as desired.

*Tip: To keep roll tight, bake in loaf pan.

Southwestern Style Stuffed Peppers

With summer coming, and Richard, well, being the way he is in the garden (ahem....crazy) I figured that getting a few new veggie recipes under my belt would be a pretty great idea. Last summer we had so many bell peppers that we were sending friends home with bags full of them and finding ways to work them into pretty much every meal. 

Being on a low/no carb diet (6 months until we tie the knot!!!).......any vegetable that can be stuffed full of meat and cheese is A-OK in my books. 

So here we go.... a new twist on the original (slightly boring) Italian stuffed pepper. 

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1 pound grass-fed, ground beef
1 cup frozen yellow corn
1 15oz can black beans, drained
2 4.5 oz cans chopped green chilies
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 cup jack cheese, grated
4-6 large red bell peppers
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
salt and pepper


Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the rice according to package directions. Set aside.

In a large skillet, combine ground beef, chopped onion, chopped chilies, and cumin. Cook over medium high heat until the meat is browned and the onion is translucent.

Mix in the corn, black beans, cooked rice, 1/2 of the jack cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare the red bell peppers....
cut the top of the pepper of lengthwise. Remove the seeds and ribs from the inside of the pepper.

Arrange the cut bell peppers in a baking dish. Stuff each pepper with the beef mixture. Add 1/2 cup of water to the baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 45 minutes or until the peppers are soft.
I feel like stuffed peppers always take FOREVER to cook.... so be patient.

Uncover, sprinkle with the remaining jack cheese and bake uncovered for 10 minutes more, or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Top each stuffed pepper with a dollop of greek yogurt and sprinkle with sliced scallions.
I have started using greek yogurt to replace sour cream in a lot of recipes. It is so healthy for you and I really cannot taste the difference. Just make sure to buy plain! If you think it is a little thick, you can whisk in some water until you get to your desired consistency.

Makes 4-6 stuffed peppers.

Just call me Nana.

If anyone can name someone under the age of 60 that spends their day between the garden and 8 hours making meatballs--- please let me know.

Yes, this happened.

Before you have some smart ass remark run through your mind please be aware that my meatballs are effing amazing. Like "Nana spent the day in the kitchen pouring blood sweat and tears into these babies" kind of amazing.

meatballs.... 

pre homemade, garden fresh marinara sauce.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork (you can also do 1/2 pound veal and 1/2 pound pork.... but I did not this time)

Finely chopped onion

Fresh parsley

Garlic

2 Eggs

1 1/2 cup or so of breadcrumbs (fresh are best, but I was lazy)

Onion Powder

Dried Oregano

Whatever other herbs I found in the pantry that looked like they would taste nice.....

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (if you have a microplane, then use it. If you don't, then get one.)

Salt and pepper

Method:

Meatballs are one of those things that I make different every time. So.....

Meatballs: April 26, 2011. Version 12, 578.

Combine meats, eggs, breadcrumbs.... and the rest of the ingredients. Yep, put everything in a big bowl and get your hands nice and dirty. It won't kill you. 

Form mixture into 2 inch balls (this is obviously a rough measurement, but be my guest- pull out that ruler and have at it.)

Heat oil (I use half olive oil and half canola oil) in a cast iron skillet. Keep pan over medium-low heat so that you do not deep fry your balls. Nana would never deep fry balls. 

Brown the meatballs evenly on all sides. Once browned, place them in the homemade marinara sauce that you already have cooking at a low simmer. (That means you should have started prepping your sauce about an hour prior..... unless you use store bought and then we are not on speaking terms and you are on your own.) The meatballs should be covered in sauce or else they will dry out. 

Technically, you can cook the meatballs for 30 minutes or so (until they are cooked through) and they will taste great. I had to go to work and left them on a very very VERY low simmer for upwards of 4 hours and they were absolutely delicious. Keep in mind- I used such low heat that there was no browning on the bottom of my pot or any simmering bubbles. Very low heat. 

Serve with marinara sauce on top of spaghetti (all covered with cheese.....) Duh.  

I am preparing for my birthday by acting like an old woman (one month and counting.... presents will be accepted.)

I will totally be a G.I.L.F. 

So hot.