Personal Ramekin Stuffed Peppers!

Hey there Clean Eaters!

So in the past, I have featured some stuffed bell peppers on my WIAW's. I figured it was about time to share the recipe because I need to fulfill all these recipe promises I make.

These stuffed peppers are so easy to make. I think the ramekins give them a personal touch... plus it is a fun way to get kids to eat. Or, for adults, it is a fool proof way to use portion control if you do that sort of thing!

Personal Ramekin Stuffed Peppers

4-5 Bell peppers, wide and pretty large
1 lb lean ground turkey or beef, preferably organic
Medium onion, diced
1/2 cup diced mushroom
Clove fresh garlic
2 medium tomatoes
Handful chopped cilantro
TBSP coconut oil
2 TBSP tomato paste per pepper
TSP chile powder
TSP smoked paprika
1/2 TBSP garlic powder
black pepper
sea salt
1 oz cheese per pepper, organic (OPTIONAL)

1) Heat your oil over medium high heat. Saute the onion, garlic and mushroom until tender, then add in your meat and seasonings. Brown the meat, adding water or unsalted stock/broth for moisture if needed.

When it is almost done, add in the cilantro.

2) Rinse and deseed your peppers! 

You can see if they fit into their ramekins too. If you don't have ramekins, you could use cups or a glass container, but it won't be nearly as fun.

3) Dice up your tomato. Line the peppers with some tomato chunks, and also the tomato paste.

5) With the browned meat, fill up the bell peppers. Top them with more fresh tomato, tomato paste, and cilantro. If you are using cheese, top it last. 

6) Put the lids back on your peppers and over each ramekin with foil. Bake in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers have visibly changed color and are soft! 

Easy peasy! Now don't tell me you can't find time to throw these in the oven. Seriously, they took me a grand total of 20 minutes hands on time! Maybe your time will be even less if you have a spouse, room mate, or kids to help. 

Do you practice portion control? How?
What -healthy- foods do your kids like?

Natalie 

Chile Basil Cauliflower and Chicken

Hey guys! I wanted to share this yummy- and pretty- recipe with you that I made the other day.

I say it is pretty, because I have always loved bright contrasts in food colors. In this recipe, this is done by pairing Chile powder with cauliflower. The brightness spreads throughout the florets and dulls a bit as you cook it, obviously, but when you first add it to the vegetables in the pan, the colors are shocking and very much appealing to the eye.

I also did this when I sprinkled a bit of Chile powder on some avocado, as shown in my Facebook background picture.

Chile Basil Cauliflower and Chicken 
Yields 2 servings 

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 chicken breasts)
1 TSP+ 1/2 TBSP Chile powder (separated)
1/4 cup unsalted chicken or vegetable stock
1 TSP garlic powder
2 TBSP fresh chopped basil + 1 TSP (separated)
1 TSP ground black pepper
1/4 small onion, diced
1/2 head cauliflower (or about 1 frozen package, thawed)
1/2 head broccoli (or about 1 frozen package, thawed)
1 TBSP coconut oil

1) Gather your chicken and prepare your marinade. For the marinade, combine 2 TBSP fresh basil, chicken stock, 1 TSP Chile powder, and garlic powder together. Cover, and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

2) Melt your coconut oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for about 3 minutes.

3) Add the cauliflower and saute for about 4 minutes. Then, add the 1/2 TBSP of Chile powder and mix. (My crummy photography skills don't show the beauty of the colors!)

4) Add the broccoli and saute for another 4 minutes or so.

5) At this point, made room for your chicken and put it in the pan, along with any marinade. you may also need to add around 1/4 cup of water.

6) Cook meat about 3 minutes on each side, or until somewhat cooked.

7) Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook another 5 minutes on each side, or until thoroughly cooked and vegetables are tender.

 8) Add the rest of the fresh basil and black pepper, mix in and allow a few minutes for the flavors to come out. Enjoy!

What color combinations are prettiest to you in foods ?

Natalie

Basil Sauteed Melody with Browned Turkey

As mentioned in my WIAW #2, I ate an amazing dinner that I couldn't exactly figure out a name for. What do you call a mixture of wonderful sauteed veggies, tossed with some browned turkey meat? You're probably thinking, "Stir-Fry? Duh.", but I just felt this meal needed a little bit more fancy of a name. You can see I still struggled finding one, though, so if you've got other suggestions feel free to let me know! 

The smell of sauteed vegetables is just SO mouth watering... it filled the whole house, and then once I started cooking of the meat, things got really tough. I mean, I was so tempted to just eat the whole thing out of the pan. Patience. Plus the fact that I needed to take pictures for my blog. Patience. 

Without farther ado, here it is...

Basil Sauteed Melody with Browned Turkey
Yields 2-3 servings 

1/2 lb lean ground turkey meat
1 TSP Chile powder
1 TSP garlic powder
1 TSP black pepper
1 TSP paprika
2 TBSP coconut oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced mushroom
1/2 small jalapeno (i used home grown, and mine was actually sweet as it had turned yellow)
1 1/2 cup thawed frozen corn
1 regular sized package frozen broccoli, thawed
1 large diced tomato
1/4 cup unsalted vegetable or chicken stock
3 TBSP chopped fresh basil

1) Thaw your frozen veggies!



2) On medium high heat, melt your coconut oil and saute the garlic, jalapeno, mushroom and bell pepper. Let get soft, about 5 minutes.

3) Add your thawed corn, and saute for another 5 minutes before throwing in the thawed broccoli.

4) After about 3-4 minutes, add in your Chile powder. Stir well.

5) Add in your chopped tomato at this point.

6) Once the tomato has softened transfer the mixture in a bowl and set aside.

7) In the same pan you just used, place your unsalted stock.

8) Place your meat and other seasonings in the pan, and cook until browned, with most of the liquid gone.

9) Place your vegetables back into the pan and add your chopped basil. Mix well, cover and let the flavors blend for a few minutes before serving.

And voila! This meal is simple, and since it uses some frozen items, you probably already have the ingredients in the house! ;) Pretty good for a something I kinda threw together really planned out.

Try this out and let me know what you think. I will definitely be making this again, maybe adding some onion on the next go around (none were in the house when I made this).

Have you ever had success with a last minute meal?
What are your favorite things to saute?

Natalie