Stuffed Peppers (with or without the peppers:)

I have always loved a good stuffed pepper. The filling is so delicious. Stuffed with yummy, hearty goodness. My husband, however, is not a fan of peppers, so I started making stuffed peppers without the peppers.  You can make this recipe either way! 

You need: 

1 lb of turkey chop meat or ground beef ( I used turkey just because it is a bit healthier.)

2 cups of rice (white or brown) 

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 can of sauce (I made my own. See post on sauce:)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Make sauce or prepare jarred sauced. Cook chop meat until no longer pink. Drain. While cooking chop meat, cook rice. I used instant, but any kind will do.  Once everything is ready (about 20 minutes) combine rice, sauce, meat and cheese in an oven safe dish. Make sure to put a little extra cheese on top. It makes a nice cheesy topping! Cook for 25 minutes at 350. Enjoy! 

If you decide to use this stuffing with peppers, cut tops off peppers and clean insides. Then boil peppers until soft but not breaking apart (5-7 minutes in boiling water). Follow the same instructions as above, but stuff the filling inside the pepper. Yum!

Fudge pops with Zoku!

For Christmas, I got a Zoku popsicle maker. Since it is summer and I had a hankering for fudge pops, I decided to put my Zoku to good use!  I highly recommend getting a Zoku. It is super easy to use and the pops come out so neat and delicious!

You need: 

1 cup of milk

1 cup of instant pudding (make pudding according to specifications on the box) 

1 cup of cool whip

(makes 8 pops!)

Combine milk, pudding and cool whip. Below is what mine looked like (a little drippy!) You have to stir a bit to combine the cool whip. A wooden spoon works best. 

Pour mixture into the zoku and in 8 to 10 minutes enjoy your delicious pops!

For more info on the zoku click here: http://www.zokuhome.com/

Chicken, Corn and Potato Saute

I got this recipe from a Rachel Ray cookbook a few years ago and tweaked it a bit to make it my own. It is a hearty mixture of deliciousness!

Chicken, Corn and Potato Saute

You need: 

2 chicken breasts

1/4 cup of Olive Oil

1/2 cup of frozen corn

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup of chicken broth

Dash of salt to taste

Chop potatoes into thin slices. I used the fabulous slicer pictured. It is a wonderful hands free chopper that makes perfect slices! I am pretty sure it is made by XO. 


 Add enough olive oil to pan to cover the bottom. Potatoes burn and stick pretty easily in this dish, so err on the side of more olive oil. These take a while to get soft, so allow 25 minutes for these to cook. I find that putting a top on the pan makes all the difference. 


While cooking the potatoes, cook the chicken in a separate frying pan lined with olive oil. Cook chicken until no longer pink. I usually cut the chicken into slices halfway through, so that it is easy to add to the rest of the dish later on.


 Once potatoes are soft, add the corn and chicken broth. After the chicken broth has boiled down a bit, add cooked chicken, butter and salt. Enjoy!

English Muffin Bread!

Every Christmas, we had English Muffin bread when I was growing up. I have been looking for a good recipe for awhile and I finally found it! I tried the recipe this morning with great results!

English Muffin Bread Ingredients

For the full recipe, go to http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/english-muffin-bread/

The only thing I did differently is line the pan with Crisco, so it popped right out and was all set. I baked for 24 minutes for a perfect outside and inside too:) Enjoy!

Italian Chicken Stir Fry

This is an Italian version of chicken stir fry. I am not a huge fan of soy sauce, so I make my own version of this Chinese dish with garlic Italian style. Enjoy:) 

Italian Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients

You need:

2 cups of rice (brown or white)

1 cup of carrots

1 teaspoon garlic

2 chicken breasts cooked and cut up into pieces

2 turns around the pan of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

6 tablespoons butter

Steam or boil carrots with two tablespoons of butter. While cooking carrots, cook rice. I usually use instant rice, but regular rice works too!

In a frying pan, put two turns of olive oil in pan, cook chicken until no longer pink. I usually brown each side for four minutes, then cut chicken into pieces and cook until all are white. Add garlic after chicken is in pieces. 

When everything is ready, combine, add the rest of the butter and salt and pepper to taste. Yummy and easy:) 

Delicious Brown Butter Sauce..Yum!

This recipe is based on a brown butter sauce from Rachel Ray. One night, I was searching for a quick butter sauce to make with pasta. Boy, was I surprised with the result! It is so delicious!

Enjoy:)

Delicious Brown Butter Sauce Ingredients

You need: 

6 tablespoons of butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon heavy cream

(might want to add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese to thicken if needed)

Melt butter and add salt. Add garlic until it begins to brown, next add heavy cream. Cook for another few minutes until it thickens up. Add cheese if needed. 

Definitely try this one! So yummy:)

Italian Style Tomato Sauce, the easy way!

One of the staples of most things that I make is tomato sauce, in one form or another. Because of this, I have a short cut way to make really good sauce! If you are looking for the kind of sauce that takes hours to make and has real onions and garlic, keep looking! The recipe below has the homemade taste without all of the fuss. Enjoy:)

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

You need: 

1 can of crushed tomatoes. (Tuttorosso is the best)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning

1 tablespoon basil (dried)

1 1/4 tablespoons sugar

Dash of salt and pepper

Combine these ingredients in a sauce pan and cook for 20-30 minutes on a low boil. Make sure to keep in on a low boil, otherwise the sauce thickens up and starts to burn. 

The thing I really love about this recipe is that you can make it to your own taste. If you want a hotter sauce, add more garlic powder. If you don't like it as sweet as I do, add less sugar. Do a lot of tasting along the way! Enjoy:)