Back in the saddle again with stuffed peppers

So, a week after gallbladder surgery, I'm finally back in the kitchen.  Orders from my doctor were to keep things as low fat as possible, but I didn't want to get ridiculous about it.  Total props to Ellie Krieger, my Food Network Queen of Healthy eating compromises.  I took her recipe for Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/greek-style-stuffed-peppers-recipe/index.html) and adapted it to Italian with what I had on hand.

My only regret is that I didn't have larger peppers  :)

My changes to her recipes:

I only had 2 red bell peppers, so I had leftover stuffing that I just plopped in the pan as meatballs (thanks to my ice cream scoop).

I included some crushed fennel seeds in the mix.

No feta cheese (which would contradict the doctor's orders) so I used a *very* light sprinkling of parmesan on top for flavor.

Didn't have bulghur, so I used the wheat germ I did have.

Didn't have a zucchini, so I skipped it and added some chopped (frozen) basil in with the spinach, in addition to a clove of crushed garlic.

Didn't have stewed tomatoes, used a large can of tomato juice and it was fine.

The result:

Next time, needs more garlic, definitely more pepper, and while the meatballs were good it was much better inside the red bell peppers.  All in all, worth recycling.

(For those of you who don't know, when I say "recycle" a recipe, I mean tweak, repeat, reassess as needed.)

Reese's Toast

This is a single-serving, completely non-healthy comfort food sort of treat, best for cold nights.

And, it requires a toaster oven.  If you don't have one, and can figure out how to replicate this, by all means share.

I think I came up with this after my father died of lung cancer in 1990, and I'd recovered from my first-ever bout of pneumonia.  It's terribly comforting, extremely gooey, and a big guilty pleasure.

Simply take a piece of bread and toast it on the lightest possible setting.

Then, while it's still warm, spread peanut butter on it.

Immediately dot the surface of the peanut butter with chocolate chips.

Put it back in the toaster oven, and toast on the lightest setting one more time.

DO NOT EAT THIS TOO SOON OR YOU'LL BURN YOUR MOUTH

But even if you do, it's almost worth it.  Warm peanut butter, toasted bread, gooey chocolate chips.  Yeah, it's good stuff.  A glass of milk, or a hot cup of tea just make it that much more perfect.

Carrot Spice cookies

This is the recipe I took to work this morning, it was a huge hit.  Next time though, I think I'll switch the proportions of the wheat and white flour, the wheat was just a little too strong for my liking.

Carrot Spice Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 whole carrots, peeled and grated with a microplane
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup toasted pecan pieces

Directions

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1.      Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

2.     Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute.

3.     Add egg, carrots and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds.

4.     Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds.

5.     Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough.

6.     Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 2 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies.

7.     Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

A Stout Breakfast

Don't get too excited, there's no stout in it, or any other beer for that matter.  This morning, after eating hardly anything yesterday, I was ravenously dreaming about hash browns.

Sometimes, it's the simple things you skip by, and I realized I'd never made hash browns that didn't come out of a bag in the freezer.  Since we have a big bag of potatoes, I thought it would be silly to not make them from scratch at least once.  And of course, since the gallstone issues recently I've been having pizza fantasies since I shouldn't eat all that cheese.  Add to that an unrequited craving for Mexican food, and this morning's breakfast was born.

Ingredients:

1 link Johnsonville Chorizo, removed from casing
2 small (or 1 large) potato, shredded (with skin on, why not?)
1/3 medium onion finely diced
2 eggs, beaten with a splash of milk
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1.  Brown the chorizo, breaking it up into small pieces as you go
2.  Remove from pan, add a splash of canola oil
3.  Mix the potato and onion together, then spread in the pan to the edges as thin as you can
4.  When the potato "pancake" is golden on the bottom, flip it over
5.  Put the chorizo on top
6.  Spread the beaten egg mixture on top
7.  Top with shredded cheese
8.  Put a lid on to help the cheese melt and the eggs cook

When the bottom of your creation is golden to medium brown, remove from pan and serve.  It holds together pretty nicely, and made a really hearty portion for 2 people.  The hash browns were still crispy, the egg was cooked and the cheese was gooey.

Was it healthy?  No.  But it sure did my soul a lot of good!

Blog Launch

OK, this is my first experimental blog post.  Basically, I cook a lot.  And a lot of what I make turns out great, and I enjoy sharing the results of my experiments with friends.  I wanted a place to chat about it that wasn't clogged with video postings, political rants, etc. so I created this blog.