Stuffed Bell Peppers with a Goat Cheese and Pear Salad

[ALLY! This is the dinner that Mike forgot about!! Rub these pictures in his face and gloat!]

Note:: This recipe is gluten free AND// This recipe is vegan if you leave out the Italian sausage and skip the parmesan cheese.

For this recipe, I cut the bell peppers lengthwise versus the tradition stuffed pepper in which you lop the top off and make it stand up, I did this because I was short on time. This meal was super satisfying, very hearty and very colorful.

You will need (for the peppers):

Olive oil

3 bell peppers (organic red bells are on sale this week!)

2 Italian sausages (I used sweet turkey Italian sausages)

1 cup of quinoa

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

1 handful of baby tomatoes, quartered

1 cup of white beans, cooked and drained

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 tablespoon of marjoram

1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

You will need (for the salad):

1 1/2 cups of baby spinach (or other salad greens, arugula would be great for this as well)

1 bosc pear, cut into slivers

1/3 of a cup of red onion, sliced thinly

1 sprinkling of chevre crumbles

1 tablespoon of olive oil (or walnut oil)

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a casserole dish with a thin layer of olive oil. Once the oven is preheated place the bell pepper halves in the casserole dish and let them bake for **10 minutes to soften them gently before you stuff them.

Prep the excess pepper tops into smaller, diced pieces and prep the other veggies for your filling.

Over medium high heat, cook your sausages with oil and a scant amount of water. Brown each side, adding a drizzle of water and cover to allow them to steam until they are cooked through.

Have I mentioned I drink my kombucha from a wine glass while I cook? I makes me feel like a grown-up.

Though this was not on the ingredient-list, I am heating up some leftover marinara I had in the fridge to drizzle onto the peppers when they are done. This is not necessary, but if you have access or are in need of using up something that is already in your refrigerator, gently heat up marinara over low heat.

While the sausages are cooking and your bell peppers are in the oven, start your quinoa: one cup of quinoa to two cups of water. Once boiling, cover and reduce to low heat for 15 minutes.

Today I was too busy to make my own beans (blush!!) But do take a minute to drain your beans (whether you made them yourself or got them out of a can)

Peel and mince your garlic.

Once your sausages are cooked thoroughly, remove them from the pan and allow them to cool on a plate. In their oil/drippings, saute the yellow onions over medium heat until they are translucent, about five minutes.

Add the beans and garlic and stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add the baby tomatoes and diced bell pepper.

Stir them in over medium heat and let them soften for about five minutes.

Add your finished quinoa and turn the heat to low.

Add your marjoram.

Cut your sausage into half moons once it is cool enough to touch.

Stir your sausage into the quinoa mixture.

You are now ready to stuff your peppers!

Grate a 1/3 of a cup of parmesan cheese.

Then begin to stuff the peppers with spoonfuls of filling.

Sprinkle them with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the peppers are cooking, put together your salad. Blend the balsamic and olive oil together and drizzle over the top.

I served my peppers over a ladle of marinara on the same beautiful plate as the salad. Include a steak knife for cutting when you serve!

xo

(PS. Mike, if you are reading this, you missed out! hehe)

Creamy Bechamel Sauce Pasta and Veggies

This sauce is actually very easy to prepare as a vegan sauce, but in this case I added cheese to it because I wanted it to be a little more decadent. If you want to make it vegan you can leave out the cheese entirely or add nutritional yeast to emulate the flavor and texture.
I love this sauce because I love alfredo, but it is often too heavy for me. This is a nice, light alternative.


What you will need:

3 tablespoons of butter, margarine or oil
1/3 of a medium yellow onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon of basil
2 cups cups of unsweetened almond milk (or whatever kind of milk you use)
1/4-1/3 of a cup of rice flour
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
**Optional:
Cayenne
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup grated asiago
(or 1/2 cup nutritional yeast if our preference is vegan)

Serve with:
1 lb gluten free pasta
Various vegetables, chopped (today I used zucchini, spinach, onions, tomatoes)

Optional Garnishes:
Chopped basil
Grated parmesan
Truffle oil

Start by melting your butter in a shallow sauce pan on medium.

Saute your onions for a few moments in the melted butter then add garlic. And basil. Allow ingredients to cook and brown.

Once your base has browned, add 1 and 1/2 almond milk and whisk (you will want to use a whisk from this point on)

In a separate bowl, mix the rice flour with the remainder of the almond milk, about 1/2 cup with the whisk. By whisking the flour separately in a bowl with cool milk, you are less likely to get lumps. Once the flour-milk mixture is smooth, add it into the milk mixture on the stove, whisking constantly. It will thicken as it heats up.

Continually whisking allow the sauce to thicken over medium to medium low heat for about 5-7 minutes. Then turn to medium low and add your grated cheese (or nutritional yeast or omit if this is a vegan recipe) and continue to whisk while simmering for about 3-5 minutes.You'll now have a thicker, smoother sauce forming.

Taste your sauce at this point, if you want it to be saltier add a pinch of salt or more cheese (though this will make it thicker) I like mine with a bite, so I had black pepper and paprika, sometimes a pinch of cayenne. Let it remain covered on low heat, stirring or whisking periodically until you are ready to serve.

For the rest of the recipe, boil water for pasta and cook as per the directions.

Saute or roast your vegetables, depending on how much time you have and what types of vegetables you use. Peas, broccoli, greens, carrots, tomatoes, summer squash etc. all make great vegetables to compliment this dish.

In this case, I used onions, zucchini, spinach and tomatoes.

Saute the onions until translucent, then add the chopped zucchini.

Once the zucchini becomes soft, add the spinach and tomatoes, allowing the spinach to wilt over low heat and the tomatoes to release their juices.

When your pasta is through cooking toss the veggies, pasta and sauce altogether in a pan.

Serve immediately, garnish with fresh grated cheese, freshly chopped basil and a sprinkle of truffle oil. MMMMMmm!