Stuffed Bell Peppers

Oh yum... If I ever had to live on leftovers. Well, just give me BBQ sauce, bread and cheese because sammies are great! BUT, a leftover stuffed pepper? That's really great too!

So first, chop an onion.
And gather your other ingredients, like tomato sauce.
Bell peppers (I don't care what color but green ones were on sale for 79 cents at Kroger).
Sweet or spicy turkey sausage (I used sweet, but I LOVE spicy sausage).
Rice. (Do you know how to make rice already? Just bring to a boil 1 can of chicken broth, as soon as it boils, turn off the heat and add in 1 3/4 cup rice. Put a lid on it for 5 minutes. Voila! Rice!).
Italian seasoning.
Meanwhile, defrost chicken to make fake-out chicken parmesan.
Neatly cut out the center of the peppers.
Pull out the seeds and other gunk, because you can't stuff it if it's full with other stuff.
Brown the sausage and onion together in a very large pan.
Line up your three green soldiers.
Oh - I love green. I'm trying to collect mostly green kitchen things. But, well, it's hard!
After you've browned the sausage and the onion is nice and soft, clear and tastes sweet (um, I love onions so I'll eat them however you happen to cook them)...
Pour in the can of tomato sauce. Have you started the rice yet? DO IT NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT YET!
Put the chicken around the bell peppers in the casserole dish to make sure everything fits well.
Yes, it looks like it does...
When the rice is done - add about half the sausage mixture to the rice. As soon is it looks pretty well mixed, then you're ready to stuff the peppers.
You may need to even out the bottom of a pepper before you stuff it. Not a problem, just carefully slice off one of the nubs until it's even.
Oh - I can taste the goodness already...
Here they are after 35 minutes in a 375 degree oven. (You can kinda see the fake Parmesan chicken, right? Just add one can on tomato sauce to the pan, after 30 minutes, top the chicken with mozzarella cheese and continue the baking process until cheese gooey, bubbly and melted).
Mmm... peppers....
My favorite! Use the leftover stuffing mixture to make enchiladas.

Enjoy!

Bagels: Take 2

Finally. I got bagels.
I also used bread flour instead of regular all purpose flour.
And I only made 10 bagels instead of 12 so that way they'd be bigger.
Yum! And look at my make-shift baking rack... Pretty funny, right? Don't worry - I ordered actual baker's racks so no more of this crap!
And - here's the MONSTER!!! He still likes to hang out in the kitchen while I bake (well, until I use the food processor!).
And after baking. Only for 25 minutes at 400 degrees - nice and chewy on the inside with a great crust on the outside.
Yum...
Oh man... I'll have to make different batches of bagels every week after this!

Enjoy!

Basketball. For Kids.

Green Cleaning With:

Vinegar, Baking Soda & Castile Soap

Oh - the list is endless of what you can do, home cleaning solutions, etc... with these natural products.

First, baking soda is a natural mild abrasive and it also has a balanced ph level, which is how it deodorizes so well (that's why you keep a box in the fridge and by the garbage can).

Second, vinegar is a very weak acidic. It's a great natural cleaner (click for more tips) and amazingly enough - it tastes great in salads too!

And I can't forget castile soap - it's made mainly of vegetable oil, but it can also be made with several different types of oils - like olive oil or even hemp oil. It's very gentle, you can use it to shampoo your hair or even wash your floor (yes, you can!).

So here's my my mixtures:

General all-purpose solution:
2/3 warm water
1/3 vinegar
Few drops of Dr. Bronner's

Mix all together in a spray bottle - shake before using. You do not have to add the Dr. Bronner's, but I do to cut the smell of the vinegar.

Bathroom Cleanser
Baking Soda
Warm water from tap

Drain Unclogger
1/2 - 1 cup baking soda
1 - 2 cups vinegar

Pour the baking soda directly over the clogged drain. Pour the vinegar over the baking soda and watch it fizz! Rinse with hot water after the fizz has been done for a few minutes.

Sprinkle the baking soda over the sink and tub, then scrub with a damp microfiber cloth OR sponge. Rinse well with warm water to bring out the shine.

For the OTHER bathroom necessity to clean - I use the general all-purpose mixture. I still have a bottle of 409 with bleach that I'm trying to use up. So when I run out of that, I'll let you know what I use.

Also - whenever I use the bleach 409 in the bathroom, I cough and gag. Blech - chemicals! Green cleaning is cheap, simple and much better for you and the environment.

Awesome Kitchen Gadgets

Poach Pods, Set of 2 $8.70 Oh - I really want these. Super easy and very cute. They look like they'd be fabulous for a Sunday brunch or a quick weekday breakfast.


Pepper Grinder $24.98 How cute is this? You just squeeze the ears to grind your pepper. It also comes with matching salt Salt Grinder!

Popcycle Maker $15.99 This takes me back to my childhood - with uneven homemade popcycles made of orange juice, Kool-Aid and lemonade, what could be better than bringing back the homemade popcycle? This time - the stick is flat and even, no more splinters in your lips! Just don't forget the sticks to go with!

Happy Thursday!

Soon to be posting: Bagels, Gnocchi with Tomatoes & Feta, Stuffed Bell Peppers

I Can't Believe I Still Laugh At This

But I just can't help it!!!

BWAHAHAHAHA!!??!!!

Ok, that's enough now.

I Did It. Again

Baker's Secret 10-by-16-Inch Nonstick Cooling Rack, Set of 2 ($5 for a set of 2)

Whilst trying to make bagels the other night, I happened to come across a problem. I have no cooling racks! So I used a "shield" - the stupid thing that I got from Ikea that you put over a pan when you're either sauteing or frying something.

I set it up between two bowls. Didn't work out so well. I mean the screen didn't really allow the bagels to cool (I know, I know, enough with the dang bagels already...) and I just need these cooling racks in general for making chocolate chip cookies anyway.

Plus a set of two is only $5 with the free super saver shipping at Amazon.com.

I couldn't pass it up...

The Unicef Card - Vote For It!

So, you know how every year Pier 1 Imports sells the Unicef card? Well I could never figure out how any of the cards were picked.

Go figure.

I get an email asking to vote. Now, anyone who receives Pier 1 solicitations (um, yes, I did just type solicitations because that's what they are...) will receive this email.

You can vote online for your favorite card too! Just click here.

The cards are super cute - it'll probably take me 5 minutes to decide which one is getting my vote!

Happy Tuesday!

Rock Hard Bagels

I bought two tubs of fabulous cream cheese last week. But not bagels. I figured that bagels would be super easy to make. After pouring through the puny three shelves of baking books at the library I decided upon this one: How to Bake: Complete Guide to Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins,


Of course, I didn't even have the right tools. What did I do? I went out and bought one of these:


Black & Decker FP2500S Wide-Mouth Food Processor-500 Watts, Stainless Steel

It works well - I have the white one.

BUT...

The bagels didn't turn out. I knew from the beginning that I shouldn't have followed the recipe. I should've just used the ingredients and my baking knowledge instead of following it to a T.

I'm not even going to post a picture of the bagels until I get them perfect.

So tonight, bagels are on the menu.

I don't care how many times it takes me to get them right or how many pounds of flour. Or even if my new food processor starts smokin' I AM GOING TO MAKE BAGELS.

Here's the recipe from Chow.com (as it's not directly in front of me right now). So it looks easy enough, right?

My changes for tonight:

1. Don't roll them out, just poke a hole in the center (they came apart in the water AFTER I FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS. NOT GOOD).
2. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.
3. Add honey instead of sugar.
4. Make 9 - 10 bagels instead of 12 (they were too small for me).

Wish me luck.

So, what's your favorite kind of bagel? I'm taking suggestions here...

ShamWow Guy...

He's so NOT hot in real life. Check this out - the Sham Wow commercial crew must have fabulous make up artists because he definitely does NOT match his commercial face!