OMG IT'S A RECIPE

It tastes better than it looks, sweartoGod.

Okay so here is the thing: when bell peppers first came into season here a couple of months ago, I started craving old-school stuffed peppers like MAD. You know, the ones your mom used to make back in the '70s, with the meat and the rice and the tomato sauce? OMG SO GOOD. Pure comfort food.

So I made them and P and C loved them and then they started wanting them every week and then I realized that these things are kind of a pain in the ass, what with parboiling the peppers and then stuffing them and arranging them in the baking dish and yeah. No wonder my mom didn't make them very often.

SO! I got lazy and came up with a casserole version. Basically it involves chopping the peppers and adding them to the filling instead of stuffing them. I probably didn't invent this, but whatever, my version only has five ingredients and it's super easy and you can customize the hell out of it based on how you and your family like to eat. And it makes a ton and is great for potlucks! And it freezes really well in case you're pregnant or have surgery coming up or whatever! Yay!

The recipe below is exactly how I make it, but scroll down for some ideas re: making it vegan or paleo/low-carb or whatever, if you're into that.

5-Ingredient Stuffed Pepper Casserole

2 lbs. ground meat (we like half ground pastured pork, half bulk pastured pork sausage)
4-6 large green bell peppers, chopped into large-ish pieces
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups cooked jasmine rice (made from 1 cup uncooked rice)
2 15-oz. cans tomato sauce (we like Muir Glen Organic)

Cook meat in a giant skillet over medium-high heat just until no longer pink, then add chopped green peppers and minced garlic cloves and continue cooking, stirring frequently. Once the peppers are crisp-tender and the meat has browned a bit, remove from heat and mix in cooked rice and 1.5 cans of tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a large casserole dish or 9x13" pan and spread the rest of the tomato sauce on top. Bake covered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F, then uncover and continue baking for another 10 minutes or so. Remove from oven and serve.

NOTES: 

You can use whatever ground meat you want in this. Chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, venison, elk, pork, sausage, whatever, it'll all work. You just might need to add a little extra olive oil to the pan if you're using a really lean meat.

Not into meat? I haven't tried it, but I would imagine you could substitute 3-4 cups of cooked or canned legumes (lentils, black beans, etc.). Just saute the peppers and garlic in a little olive oil, remove from heat, and add the beans at the same time as the rice and tomato sauce. I don't think tofu would work, but maybe TVP? Seitan? Those Morningstar Farms crumbles? I don't know, man. Try it and report back.

I haven't tried this either but I'm 98% sure that you could substitute riced cauliflower or riced sweet potatoes for the actual rice. If you're using raw, I'd add it to the pan with the peppers and garlic so it gets a little pre-cook in. If you're using already cooked riced veggies (like those Green Giant frozen ones), I'd drain them really well, squeeze out as much moisture as you can, and add them when you'd normally add the rice.

Feel free to throw some chopped onion in there. C is allergic to onions so I leave them out. Also, you could throw some corn in there. Or some fancier peppers. Or meat AND beans. Or some raisins and cinnamon. I mean, however you like your stuffed peppers, just make that but chop and saute the peppers instead of stuffing them. You know? IT'S EASY.

I'm thinking there's got to be a way to adapt this for the slow-cooker, too. Just haven't quite figured it out yet.

Anyway, enjoy! If you try it and like it, let me know! If you try it and hate it, keep that shit to yourself. (Kidding! I'm kidding!)

Spring is coming (eventually, in its own time)

Hey, so I finished A Song of Ice and Fire FINALLY, and now we can all move on with our lives. This whole undertaking was starting to remind me of that time I decided to read the entire Bible, Genesis through Revelation, which took me six months. It only took me two months to read A Song of Ice and Fire because as it turns out, George R. R. Martin is slightly less verbose than God. But only SLIGHTLY. If Mr. Martin wants to start using "Infinitesimally More Concise Than the Almighty" as his new tagline, he can have that for free. Consider it payback for the enjoyment I've gotten from his books and insurance against anything really bad ever happening to Arya (don't read too far into that link if you don't want spoilers).

And also I have given up coffee. I felt you should know. I haven't done this voluntarily, and if coffee ever stops making my stomach feel like it's been gnawed upon by rabid weasels I am TOTALLY going back to my one 12 oz. cup of decaf per day, but for now I'm substituting roasted dandelion root and I don't hate it, maybe? It's not coffee, but once you throw in some grass-fed collagen powder and full-fat coconut milk (what? isn't that how EVERYONE drinks their coffee?) it's really pretty darn tasty. Yeah.

In other news, it turns out starting your own business from scratch is a whole lot of time-consuming work, WHO KNEW? I have been doing nothing* for the past couple of weeks since finishing that lengthy book series up there except working on my website and my professional Facebook page and Twitter and ordering business cards and oh yeah, still doing school, because I don't actually finish that and get my certification until September. But I start seeing clients in April. Let's pretend you care about that so I can promise to let you know when that happens, m'kay?

* Total lie. I also read three other books, took my daughter to the doctor 4,000 times and made about 27 batches of kale chips. And one batch of paleo waffles.

February (and part of January) in pictures

Yeah, so February (and part of January). I guess it's been kind of busy though I can't think what I've been doing apart from reading A Song of Ice and Fire (yes, STILL, though I'm nearly done with book 5 now, huzzah!), school stuff, helping H with her theater costume(s), cooking all the things, eating all the things, drinking sazeracs, occasionally sleeping in my office because it's snoring season, loving the sunny-and-70s weather, loathing the rainy-and-30s weather (we have had nothing whatsoever between those two extremes), and wearing leggings as pants but only around the house because I'm not a savage.

If you've been socked in with mounds and mounds of snow, I wish you sunshine and green grass. If you've been broiling in the Southern Hemisphere, I wish you cool breezes and gentle rains.

I do NOT wish rainy-and-30s on ANYONE.

And I am very ready for spring. Now, please.

*Cupcake recipe here. Sazerac recipe here. Everything else is just crappe I threw together and crammed in my pie hole.

Oops

Um, what the heck? How did I skip an entire month? I have no idea. You didn't miss much, though. It was cold, I stopped grilling for the season, H went to Dallas with her thespian troupe, C decided it was time to tweak some meds (under his doctor's close supervision), P took a much-deserved week off work, I did a bunch of nutrition school stuff, we had A Very (though not entirely) Paleo Thanksgiving a day early to accommodate my parents' travel plans, H finished driver's ed and turned 17 (!!), we bought her a used car (!$$!) and I put up the Christmas decorations in November this year, which never happens. You know, until now.

Next up: passing my first nutrition school test (which I did this morning, thank you very much), planning what to bake for holiday goodies and then actually baking them, H getting her driver's license and finally being able to drive herself to/from school OMG, a long-awaited trip to see the Louisiana in-laws (yay!), Christmas (yay!) and a bunch of dentist appointments (what? boooo!).

But first I'm off to boil some eggs (#rockstarlife). And hopefully we'll talk in the meantime, eh?