Stuffed Peppers

Another recipe from my sister, discovered deep in the Facebook Messenger archives while looking for the chickpea one. It's titled: Super Delicious (and I hate cooked peppers) Stuffed Peppers. But I hate cooked peppers too, so I haven't tried it.

4 bell peppers
2 cups cooked (1 cup dry) quinoa or rice
1/2 cup grated or crumbled cheese - feta, mozzarella, parmesan...
1 tomato
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp marjoram, oregano, and/or basil
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F.
If starting with uncooked quinoa/rice, start cooking as directed. For more flavor, use broth instead of water or add a bullion cube while cooking.
Grease a small square casserole pan with olive oil.
Remove the stems and seeds from the bell peppers but keep the rest of it whole (like cutting the top off of a jack-o-lantern). Sprinkle inside with salt and black pepper. Place standing up in the pan.
Chop tomato well. Combine with cheese, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. When quinoa/rice is done cooking, add to tomato and mix well.
Pack mixture into peppers with a spoon (it may not all fit).
Bake for 30 minutes.

She adds:
You can also stuff zuccinis with couscous! Or tomatoes with rice and chedder! Little things in big things plus cheese and garlic! Yay!

Broccoli-Chicken Braid, round 2

I decided to get creative tonight and make a Broccoli-Chicken Braid into single serving pastries. I used:

1 tube of Pillsbury "Big & Buttery" crescent rolls
1 cup chopped broccoli
2 Morningstar chikn patties
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayo
less than one egg white
maybe a tablespoon of slivered almonds
I didn't have any dill or red peppers, but I don't like those much anyway so I was fine with that.

First I separated the crescent rolls and laid them on a cookie sheet. I mixed everything up and divided it into more-or-less even dollops at the big end of each crescent roll. I folded up the corners, brushed with egg whites, and sprinkled with almonds. They baked for 20 minutes at 375.

Success!

Next time, I would do it with more broccoli, less chikn, less mayo, and a shorter cooking time - maybe 15-18 minutes. The extra-large crescent rolls definitely helped.

Taco Bake

1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c shredded lettuce
1 1/2 c chopped tomatoes
1 3/4 all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rise or dry yeast
1 T sugar
2 t finely chopped onion
3/4 t salt
1/3 c warm water (120-130F)
2 T oil
1/2 c crushed corn chips
 Mexican Beans (replaces 1 lb taco-seasoned ground beef)

Preheat oven to 375F. In medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar, onion, and salt. Mix well. Add warm water and oil. Mix by hand until almost smooth. Stir in corn chips and enough remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Spread in well-greased 10-inch pie dish, forming a ridge around the edge. Cover, let rise in a warm place 10 minutes for quick-rise yeast or 20 minutes for active dry yeast. Spread beans over dough. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until edges of dough are crisp and light golden brown. Sprinkle with cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Serve immediately.

Danish

This one is on the back of the Swedish Nuts and Baked Apples.

2  8-oz packages cream cheese
1 egg
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t lemon juice
2 packages crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350F, or 325F if using a Pyrex pan. Mix together cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. In 10x13" pan, lay out one package of crescent dough. Spread the filling evenly over it. Cover with the other package of crescents. Bake 20 minutes. Optional: Drizzle with glaze of powdered sugar and lemon juice.

Quick Pizza Dough

This makes dough for one 9" pizza. It tends to be kind of sticky, so have some extra flour for your hands.

img via: Simply Recipes

1 package (2 1/4 t) yeast
1 cup warm water
1 t sugar
1 t salt
2 T oil
2 1/2 c flour
sauce, cheese, pizza toppings

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Then add the sugar, salt, oil, and flour. Beat 20 strokes, then set aside to raise for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a baking sheet or pizza stone and stretch into shape. Add your toppings and bake for 20 minutes.

Tofu Baked Ziti

This casserole basically substitutes tofu for ricotta cheese for way fewer calories, and you'd never notice if you didn't know what was in it.

12 oz uncooked ziti
28 oz tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
10.5 oz firm silken tofu
1 egg white
10 oz frozen spinach block
1/4 t nutmeg
1/8 t pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Boil water and cook ziti according to package. Puree together all other ingredients except ziti, sauce, and mozzarella. Mix the cooked ziti into the tofu/spinach mess. Divide the mixture into 3 parts. Pour 1/4 of the sauce (about a cup) into a casserole dish, then 1/3 of the ziti/tofu/spinach. Continue layering, ending with the rest of the sauce. Top with mozzarella. Bake covered for 45 minutes.

Cauliflower & Cheese Bake

This is one of my grandma's recipes. Not the grandma who liked to bake, but the one who doesn't eat spicy foods. It's kinda interesting, I think you could experiment with different cheeses.

img via: veggie venture

1 medium cauliflower head
2 T dry breadcrumbs
1/2 - 3/4 c grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1/4 c butter, melted

Trim cauliflower, but keep whole. Cook in boiling and salted water until "tender, but firm." Drain, put cauliflower head in baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese, breadcrumbs, and butter. Bake at 475F for 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Potato & Mushroom Casserole

I don't know where this came from, probably the back of a soup can. Apparently I didn't feel it necessary to note how long you bake it for, I don't know what's up with that, but it's at least a half hour.

img via: tales of thyme & place

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 c grated cheddar cheese
6-10 potatoes
black pepper
paprika

Wash potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Combine condensed soup, cheese, and pepper. Arrange potato slices in a sprayed casserole dish - we usually end up with three long rows of overlapping slices. Top potatoes with soup and cheese mix. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350F "until cheese melts & potatoes are softened."

Edit 5/15/12: I found my mom's recipe card. This recipe is from my aunt Helen, and it bakes covered for 45 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes.

Hasselback Potatoes

This is from a book called Essential Vegetarian. I usually end up just throwing cheese on until it looks good, because I really don't know what three ounces looks like.

4-6 potatoes
2 T butter, melted
1 c breadcrumbs (about 2 slices)
3 oz shredded cheddar cheese
paprika
sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Peel the potatoes and cut into halves or quarters. Make downward slices into each half, 1/4 inch or less apart, and stopping about 1/4 inch from cutting all the way through.
Lay the potato halves in a greased 2.5 quart pan. Brush potatoes with melted butter.
Bake 30 minutes.
Take pan from oven, sprinkle potatoes with cheese and breadcrumbs.
Bake 15 minutes more.
Sprinkle with paprika, serve hot with sour cream.

Green Lasagna

This is our standard lasagna. I just made it, it's really easy, I promise. Once again, Julie Jordan is to thank.

img via: what to make for dinner

1 quart tomato sauce
1 pound lasagne noodles
2 10-oz. bricks frozen chopped spinach
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
grated parmesan or romano cheese

If you're not using no-cook noodles, cook them according to the package. Thaw and squeeze the spinach. Add the eggs and nutmeg and mix well. In a glass or ceramic baking dish, make layer: tomato sauce, noodles, spinach mixture, ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan. I can usually get 3 or 4 layers, starting with a really thin layer of sauce under the first noodles. Try to finish with mozzarella or parmesan as the top layer. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Let sit at least 5 minutes before serving.

Birthday Party Stuffed Mushrooms

There's a very good reason "Wings of Life" is at the top of our cookbook list. Another time-intensive-but-totally-worth-it hippie food.

img via: a farm girl's dabbles

2 pounds large white mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, scallions or cilantro
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper
paprika

Gently wash the mushrooms, then pull the stems out of the caps. Put the caps upsidedown into a greased baking pan, packed close together so they can't roll around, and set them aside for now.

Chop the stems and fry them in olive oil. Add garlic and fry a little more. Remove from heat and add everything else: bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, and cheeses. Add a bit of salt and fresh black pepper. Mix together well and fill each mushroom cap with the mixture. (My father, being the practical man that he is, has determined that this is easiest to do with a pastry bag, aka a ziplock bag with one corner cut off.)

Sprinkle with paprika and more parmesan cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Quiche

This is a very easy dinner, good with rice. You can make it with pretty much any vegetables you have around. We usually use thawed frozen spinach or steamed broccoli, but experiments with asparagus, tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocados have gone well too.

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3 T flour
1/4 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg or dry mustard
1 pie crust
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cups vegetables, chopped

Beat together eggs, milk, flour, salt, and spices to make the custard. Put the crust into a pie pan and cover the bottom with the cheese. Lay the vegetables and onion into the crust. Pour the custard over the top. Bake 40-45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Marinated Tomato Sauce

Only make this in the summer when you've got really good, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil avaliable.

4 large ripe tomatoes
12-15 large basil leaves
1 large clove garlic, pressed
3 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
6 oz. mozzarella cheese
freshly ground black pepper

Cut tomato and cheese into 1 inch cubes. Mince basil. Combine all and let stand 1 hour at room temperature. Serve over pasta.

4 servings: 687 calories, 23.5 grams fat
6 servings: 458 calories, 15.6 grams fat
8 servings: 343 calories, 12 grams fat

Mexican Lasagna

An interesting change from your usual Italian lasagne!

1/2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 green pepper, chopped
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
dash cayenne
1 cup corn
16 oz. kidney beans, drained
1 cup tomato sauce
6 corn tortillas
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In oil, saute onion, garlic and green pepper for aprox 5 minutes, until soft. Add spices and cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Add corn, beans and tomato sauce. In a microwave-safe dish, layer tortillas, beans, and cottage cheese 2 or 3 times. Top with cheddar.

Cook, uncovered on High in the microwave 10-15 minutes, until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4. Aprox 460 calories per serving.