Peppers, Peppers, and More Peppers

I have always liked the taste of bell peppers.  I also like the color they bring to a dish.  Well, this week seemed like pepper week at our house.  We made pepper steak one night, had egg salad topped peppers for lunch another day, and another night we had stuffed peppers. 

The egg salad topped peppers were a last minute inspiration based on what I had in the fridge and the fact I hadn’t made rolls and someone had eaten the last one.  It was absolutely yummy!  I made a simple egg salad, added celery, and seasonings and topped mini peppers with the mix.  Delicious.  Who needs bread when peppers are available?

Egg Salad Topped Peppers

2 hard boiled eggs smashed
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
1-2 Tbsp mayo
Dash of mustard
Mini sweet peppers halved
Salt and pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb blend

Mix the eggs, celery, mayo and mustard together.  Top the mini peppers.  Add seasonings to taste.

The second recipe has been begged for by Cinnamon for several months now.  She had never had stuffed peppers before and thought they sounded good.  Well finally this week, she got her wish.  She was excited, until she tasted them.  Then she was enamored, asking for them again and making plans for peppers in the future.  She has a plan brewing for stuffing mini peppers for an appetizer dish for Christmas.  Yes, that is how much that girl loved these peppers.  Everyone enjoyed them actually.  I guess they will be on the menu again! 

Stuffed Peppers

1 lb ground beef or venison

1 large onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 celery stalks chopped
4 mushrooms chopped
½ cup parsley minced
1 cup uncooked rice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 large can of tomato sauce
6 bell peppers

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cut tops off the bell peppers and clean out the center.  Set “lids” aside. 

Brown ground beef, garlic, and onion in a skillet.  Add mushrooms and celery and cook for a few minutes.   Add parsley, rice, oil, salt and pepper, and tomato sauce.  Mix together.  Fill hollowed out peppers.  Top with the “lids.”  Place the peppers in the baking dish.  Add water to the bottom of the dish (about ¼ inch).  Bake for 90 minutes at 325 degrees.

They are also easy to make and inexpensive if you buy the peppers when they are on sale. You can make them for less than $1.30 a serving. I simply added a spinach salad to round out the meal.

Leftovers: Salmon

Several days ago I shared with you my favorite way to make salmon baked with brown sugar and butter.  We usually have enough leftover to make another favorite: a salmon sandwich spread.  It is super easy.  I just take the remaining fish and flake it into small pieces, removing any bones.

 Then simply add enough mayo to make it creamy.  It will really depend on how much fish you have leftover.  This is just like tuna fish, except the brown sugar really gives this salmon spread a delicious flavor.

  Spoon on top of gluten free bread or rolls.  It is great on crackers too.  I like to use Crunchmaster Multi Grain Crackers for this spread.  They have the right texture and flavor to make a wonderful snack.

A quick, delicious use for leftovers.  Hope you enjoy!

Quick, Easy, and Under a Buck

Eating gluten free often times takes plenty of preparation.  I like it when I can find something that is fast and easy.  One of our favorite easy lunch meals or individual dinners when it is a "fend for yourself night" around here is Thai Kitchen.  The instant rice noodle soups are a hit with my family.  We don't just eat them as the package suggests though.  We jazz them up a bit.

We have added all kinds of variations to this simple soup.  We make the soup according to the package and then add a vegetable and a protein.  Our vegetable choices are frozen peas, corn, mixed veggies, broccoli, or a Normandy mix, fresh sliced onions or mushrooms.  We add these during the boiling stage to thaw them out and quickly cook them.   Next we add a protein like crumbled bacon, leftover ham or chicken, shrimp, or hard boiled eggs.  We let it cool and allow the soup to thicken into more of a sauce.  Yum. 

Not only is this dish quick taking less than five minutes start to finish, but it is inexpensive.  You can make this dish for less than a dollar.  Quick, easy, gluten free, and frugal!  What more could you want!  Oh, and it tastes great too!

Quick and Easy Salmon

We are a family that loves the outdoors!  We love all kinds of outdoor activities like hiking and camping, but we especially enjoy activities that also provide food for our table like hunting, fishing, berry picking, and gardening.  Okay, gardening is not my favorite, probably because in recent years I have not been all that successful.  I have had to compete against some pretty tough competitors too:  gophers, deer, chickens, freezing temperatures, and even my dog who apparently loves cucumbers and tomatoes.  I like the idea of gardening and bringing in something from the outdoors to prepare for dinner.  Maybe this will be the bounty year.  Looking at this picture of last years tomato bounty, I have my doubts.

I am much more successful when it comes to berry picking!  Even fishing!  We do love to eat all kinds of fish.  We like to catch bass and crappie to fry, trout to smoke, salmon to bake or barbecue, and everything else in between!  The other night we had salmon.  Now for those of you who don't fish, you might think that salmon is a dinner budget buster.  Depending on your other side dishes, salmon can be a deliciously frugal meal.  Try pairing it with rice and a salad for minimal cost.

My favorite way to make salmon is so quick and easy, not to mention yummy.  To start, simply line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  This will make clean up a snap.  Next place your salmon pieces on the foil.  I make cuts across the fish (width) and insert butter (I use Earth Balance to make it dairy free).

Next, I season the fish with salt and pepper.  Then I pack brown sugar on top of the fish.

Cover the fish with foil.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes.  I start checking after twenty minutes because you don't want your fish to be overly done.  It dries it out.  The fish should flake easily. 

Absolutely yummy!  I hope you enjoy!

Let's Talk Turkey...Burgers

I can easily rely on routine.  Often times I find myself making the same dinners each month.  I try to challenge myself with New Menu Night and I have also started to shop with an eye for something new to try each month.  I am always on the lookout for something new with a "Gluten Free" printed neatly on the package.  It helps me stretch.  Break from the routine a bit.

Last week I went to Costco and found something new:  turkey burgers.

I know.  Turkey burgers are not new to most people.  I told you I rely on routine and quite frankly, turkey burgers were not on my radar.  They sound a bit too, I don't know, healthy?  But there on the bag printed oh so neatly were those two magic words!  How could I pass this up!

There are a couple more features that make this worth purchasing.  First the prep time is quick!  Twenty minutes quick!  Sometimes being gluten free is hard because there is so much preparation and planning involved.  It is nice to find something that you can make in a hurry!  Second, the ingredient list is short and only uses words I can pronounce like turkey, kosher salt, rosemary extract, and pepper.  Can't hide much in there!  Finally, the cost is $10.49 for 12.  Using five for my family only costs me $4.37.  If I add a salad and perhaps some fries or roasted vegetables I can round out this meal rather nicely for around eight dollars.

Tonight we had turkey burgers topped with onions, pineapple, avocado slices, and tomatoes.  Everyone loved it! 

I served it with the salad and fries, because well, I decided to have a balanced meal: the healthy turkey burger and the maybe-not-so-healthy fries.

Anyway, it looks yummy to me!  And it was!